Stitch Me Tender
by A.J. Sirkis
Summary: In the world of Naruto there lives a beautiful young stealth ninja named Samantha. She is a woman without a path or designation. But, what she really wants... is revenge for her family. Read along as Samantha's story unfolds...
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: We don't own Naruto, so shut up

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'_Blah'_ thoughts

"Blah" Speaking

**Chapter 1:**

_**Samantha the stealth ninja.**_

The silence in the forest unnerved Samantha as she walked the worn path that many others before her took. Sighing, she pulled her cloak tight to fight back the cold of the night. The moon overhead was like a lantern lighting her way towards her destination. She was low on yen, there had to be a village somewhere. She patted her shoulders and rubbed her hands to keep warm, but alas. "Damn" Samantha turned her head slightly and closed her eyes, trying to imagine this ordeal to be over with. When suddenly, the sound of hoofs and a cart faintly emerged from behind her. This was her night! Very much indeed. She smirked with glee and stealthily hid into the outskirts of the forest, just waiting for them to pass and then, she would strike.

The travelers began to pass by, oblivious to her presence. Her eyes widened. Greed overflowed her thoughts as she watched the gold-trimmed cart slowly pass by her. It was carried by four clagsdale horses, all well groomed and black. Behind the carriage were well armored soldiers on each side, very expensive armor they wore. And not to mention they were samurai! And good lord, behind the huge samurai were six horsemen also guarding whoever may be sitting inside that awfully gaudy looking carriage. Who was in there and what's he got she wondered. She couldn't pass this up. She'd have to be crazy.

As soon as the last two horsemen began to pass her, she made her move. Silently, she emerged out from her hiding. Thinking quickly, she made multiple shadow clones to assist her. Like a hungry panther, she stalked the two last men, Once again she smirked while unsheathing her dagger and so did her clones. With one movement of the wrist, the clones were in place, surrounding the guards. _'What fools…'_ She thought, waiting for the opportune moment. She stayed close to the horse's backside; adrenaline was pumping through her now. Sweat was forming from her brow and onto her mask. This feeling…She loved it.

When it was time, they all ambushed the men. Perfect. Without making a sound or disturbing the horses. The shadow clones disappeared; she then soared onto the carriage and landed on the roof of the carriage without making a sound. Looming over the carriage driver, like a hawk would to its prey, she raised her arm and with a horizontal slash, she decapitated the young man. A tremor of pleasure caused her eyes to shut and she began to feel chills run down her spine, while a smile appeared on her lips. Jumping down, she put her blade away and brought out a triple barreled magnum, fully loaded and swung open the door. "Get out" She commanded with a steely voice.

A plump man with rosy cheeks trembled at the sight of her pointing the gun at him, scared for his life. Annoyed because the man was not following orders, she fired a shot near his head and yelled. "Get out now!" Without hesitating, he got out and onto his knees when she commanded it. "Take anything. It's all yours" He said, his voice stammered and stuttered. "Good…Now what ya got?" Samantha crooned while looming over the poor man. The middle-aged man cowered, while afraid for his life. "Take it, all of it, I don't care. It's whatever you want!" Samantha grinned and pressed the five pound pistol to the plump mans head. His eyes widened as he began to pray for his life. Samantha chuckled. "Ok…Everything you got on you. Literally…Take it off" Confused by her order, he slowly began to strip his chubby body.

Looking around, Samantha knew that there was more than this! "Where's your stash?" Samantha enquired, while resting her pistol on her shoulder, trigger finger still ready. The old lord pointed inside the carriage. "It's in the case, go ahead and take it" Like a giddy little girl; Samantha skipped to the carriage and jumped inside. Immediately she noticed the case. A gleam of pure greed overlapped her eyes. She went to the case and opened it slowly. It was filled, absolutely stuffed with yen! Samantha closed her eyes and looked up, holding her hands up high. "Holy crap, there is a god!" She sighed while smiling, picking up a wad of yen. She rubbed it up to her cheek and whined as if she missed it or something. "Awww, my poor baby, did you miss me?" Samantha was loving it! This could buy her a small cottage possibly; maybe even some armor and some new swords.

Caught in the moment, Samantha forgot about the old lord outside the carriage. He was trying to run away! Infuriated, Samantha shot a round at his feet, making him dance, so to speak. Startled and completely horrified, he dropped to his knees again and began to bow. "Get back here!!" The faty thought he could run away. As he bounded back, she scowled at him. She grabbed the case filled with yen and jumped out of the cart. She stood in front of him, still scowling. She put the case down and untied her pack and sat it on the ground in front of him. It fell with a –badump-, throwing a cloud of dust that covered his face. He wheezed and then looked up at her. "Fill the bag now fatso, Don't pull crap like that again or I'll blow a hole in that fat head of yours!"

The man didn't hesitate to start filling the bag. "Thank you" Exclaimed Samantha. Now turning her attention away from the cowering lord, she checked the bodies for more loot. She found nothing but the armor and katana's seemed to be of good value. Gathering the goods she cut loose one of the four clagsdale horses from the carriage. She then loaded her stuff onto the horse and then finally mounted. With a mortified expression, he watched as the phantom thief rode off into the night.

* * *

About thirty minutes by horseback, she made her way through the winding paths of the dark forest. Soon enough she saw a gate lit by paper lanterns. '_Finally, a friggen village! I can take a bath now!!' _Samantha smiled warmly at the thought of a hot and relaxing retreat. And not to mention the armor and katana's she could pawn while in town made her even more ecstatic. Two guards met her at the gate and lead her into the village. "Ma'am, please state your name and occupation for safety reasons please" Samantha just realized that she has been wanted for thievery for over 3 years. She had to think fast. '_A name…a name…crap! I need a name!'_ The young men began to feel suspicious of her. "Ma'am, I'm going to have to ask for you-" "My name is Yuzue. Uhh….Uhh…Aakawa and…Uhh….I'm a geisha just passing through just to find business that's all" The two men looked at the many swords sticking out of her sides and neatly tucked away on her back. Then they looked back at each other, flabergastered. They took a minute exchanging glares from one another. "Alright then, you may pass"

"Ok bye!" Exclaimed Samantha sweetly as the gates shut behind her. "Hook line and sinker"

When entering the village, the sounds she heard let her know there was indeed a festival. The sound of children playing, music being performed, drunks, women in their kimonos and the click clack of their wooden shoes. '_Ah, memories' _She thought. While trotting down the street, she thought as she was kind of dozing off, where she could stop and rest. Also where she can pawn her newly swiped items. There in the corner of her eye she spotted a young woman walking beside her. "Excuse me, but do you know where I could find an Inn and possibly a pawn shop nearby?" The cute and innocent young girl just smiled sweetly and replied. "Yes, right down this street there is a pawn shop and an Inn should be to the left on the four-way intersection" Samantha gave her a salute with her two fingers. "Thanks enjoy your night." And just as she was about to bound away, Samantha asked. "Oh, hey. Do you know what festival this is?" The girl once again smiled and replied once more. "This festival is the snow festival" Samantha nodded her head and kindly thanked her again as she raced off down the street.

At the pawn shop, Samantha tied up her horse taking note of what she had to pawn. She walked inside with her hands full. The young man behind the desk did not notice her come in. For a while there, Samantha waited to get his attention. "Hello?" The young man came out of his trance and apologized. "Sorry ma'am, what can I do for you?" Samantha grinned underneath her mask and dropped all her items on the desk at once. "What can this get me?"

Leaving with her pockets filled with yen, happy as can be Samantha, she came upon the most extravagant and most costly Inn in the village. "Sakura Inn huh?" Samantha said to herself. Samantha shrugged and sighed a long sight. "Bath!" And so she would get. Samantha did not put any waste in her money. She got the most expensive room in the Inn. Oh yeah, she was in heaven. She set her stuff down on her bed and began to unwind. "Ok" She said in one big huff. "Time for me time."

Exhausted from her excursion, Samantha began to walk to the bathroom. While doing so, she slowly began to strip herself of her clothes, leaving a trail leading to a steamy abyss. She leaned back into the water and allowed for her hair to get wet. She came back up with a relived exhale that lingered in the bathroom. She was tense all over. This was all she really needed some relaxation and complete tranquility. Sitting on her knees, the warm water soothed her aching shoulders. She grabbed the soap and worked it into a thick lather in her hands. She lifted her head and began to wash her shoulders, then her arms. She stood up and began to wash her perfectly formed body. She opened her eyes. White…Through the steam her red pupils began to glow. They gleamed. Looking down at her body, she carefully began to wash her legs. Her stitches were becoming loose a bit. Then it made her think as she looked into the mirror on the sliding wood and paper door.

She realized or actually remembered that she was not normal. Sadness filled her eyes as she touched the stitches that ran up the edges of her beautiful almond shaped eyes. And also the stitches on both sides of her mouth, they lead all the way up her jaw bone and to her ears. Also she noticed her stitches on her legs and her neck…and her wrists…and her back. She sat back down and then laid down in the water. She looked up to the ceiling…trying to heal the internal stab in her heart. She held herself and closed her eyes. Her raven black hair floated along with her, surrounding her.

It made her feel free. But why…Why did she have to look like…this? She has always been self conscious about the way she looked. She thought that she was ugly, but what she did not see was a beauty that could not be matched. All she wants is…is someone like…her. Someone just like her. She shook it off and got out of the tub.

After she was dressed, she started to dry her hair when she heard a loud –boom- outside. Samantha opened her window to see what was going on. There were fireworks! Beautiful shades of blue, red, green, yellow, orange and purple lit up the sky. Everyone outside was watching. Samantha has not seen this before…It was beautiful! All the kids outside were running a muck while parents were swooning and holding hands. Samantha was too emotionally broken down to watch anymore. So then she sunk into her bed and closed her eyes. She rested with ease.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: We don't own Naruto

Disclaimer: We don't own Naruto. If we did….OMG! You don't want to know.

**Panda: **Hope you like!! -glomps Neko-

**Neko: **ACK! –falls- Yes, I hope you like!...Owie

'_Blah'_ thoughts

"Blah" Speaking

* * *

**Chapter 2:**

_**A fleeting glance**_

The village bustled the next day, putting away the items that were used in the festival, paper lanterns, stands and a small stadium. Most people were now waking up, are dealing with hang overs and some lovers or couples emerged from different Inn's holding hands. Children ran around, playing with their new toys. Oh yes…This looked to be a beautiful day in the village and a good day for Samantha.

That is, until an ominous hush fell onto the village. Elderly women started to whisper in hushed tones, some children stopped playing and ran to a family member in fear. Something or someone was coming and they guessed at who it might be. They were right when a young man came running through, yelling at the top of his lungs. "Three of them are coming!"

Without a moment's hesitation, everyone hurried inside and stayed quiet. Most businesses closed, except for a few since they sold important necessities (clothing, weapons, food stores, pharmacy) and the Inn's. Everyone feared for their lives right now, especially since they were not sure which members were approaching. These members were part of the ruthless organization known as, The Akatkuki.

Samantha rolled with a small groan from the bed, groggy but completely well rested. _'This is a really comfortable bed…Mmmm….'_As she stretched, she walked to the bathroom to take care of her necessities. She stopped for a short moment while she was combing her hair, their was no noise coming from outside. Something didn't feel right. This feeling bugged her as she finished and got ready to head out to wander a bit in the village. Tying her raven hair up with a black ribbon, she looked for her shoes and found them beside the bed. Pausing for a moment, she contemplated on wearing the mask or using a genjutsu to hide her stitches. She decided to wear her mask. Useful genjutsu's shouldn't be wasted. The eerie silence of the village still bugged her. She had to investigate, not only that, but she needed some fresh air.

Stepping outside of the Inn, Samantha deffinatley knew there wasn't something right about this picture. All that could be heard is the wind swaying the trees and the sounds of Samantha inhaling and exhaling the clean air. '_What's going on?'_She wondered as she stepped out further into the street. She suddenly felt a presence…Behind her. Not close, but close enough. Samantha spun around to see three men dressed in black cloaks with red clouds on them. All three of them wore kasas, covering their faces. Suspicious they were, She didn't like it.

'_What the hell!' _She thought to herself again as they began to step closer and closer in her general direction. Samantha stood her ground. She wasn't going to move, not for these punks. Who were these freaks anyway? And what did they want? One of the mysterious figures kind of wore his cloak open a little, revealing his chest a bit and on his back there was a three bladed scythe. The other one beside him to his right was a young man a little bit shorter than him. His black hair was held back in a pony tail and the last one…She couldn't describe anything about him. He was completely hidden.

Finally, they crossed Samantha. The man with the scythe sort of glared at her as he passed. The young man with the pony tail did nothing, but when the last man crossed her…Something weird happened…Shoulder to shoulder, it seemed like time just froze. Samantha looked at him, her eyes locked with gleaming black eyes with neon green pupils. Hypnotizing. This moment seemed to take forever…Why?

Then reality came back to Samantha. Shocked and a bit bewildered about what just happened, she turned around to watch the three men walk away. Samantha placed her hand on her chest. Her heart was pounding…Those…Eyes. Who was he?

* * *

Meanwhile, as the three men walked away from Samantha. The man with the open cloak grinned from under his kasa while looking at the other two. "That chick was fine…I'd tap that" He said, as a bloody/sexual fantasy played in his mind involving him and Samantha. The black haired man sighed softly while shaking his head and walking ahead of them at a quicker pace, The third man simply tuned everything out as he thought back to that moment. '_Who is she?_ _Why do I feel like…? There's something unusual about her' _He thought

"I know you want to take her. Hear her moans as you fuck her, sending her into the black abyss of pleasure while you relish in the moment of getting laid." This interrupted the man's thoughts as his black eyes with neon green pupils stared at the first man who spoke. "Hidan…Get off me" He muttered, not really happy that his partner had his arm over his shoulders. Hidan laughed and spoke in a light babying tone. "Do you need to get laid?" Without another word, Hidan was pushed rather harshly onto the ground and coughed. "You dickbitter…" He coughed again. "Either a punch to the gut or I rip your balls out" The angry man, no, extremely annoyed man, walked away while muttering under his breath. The black haired man, smirked, knowing what happened even though he was ahead of them. Childish really, but funny. Hidan got up, rubbing his abdomen and slowly caught up. This might be a long day.

* * *

Samantha shook her head and somewhat banished the thought about the three mysterious men, especially the one with those eyes. Rolling her eyes, she walked to clear her mind. Samantha shrugged and dusted her shoulders off. "You survived!" A young man enquired from hiding. Samantha cocked her head. "What do you mean I survived? Who were those guys anyway??" The village seemed to unfold again as the young man's jaw dropped. "You don't know who they are?!" Samantha shot her eyes from one direction to the next in a sarcastic tone, she replied. "Uuuh…No I don't know who they are. That's why I asked"

The young man grabbed her shoulders, shaking her roughly. "They are a part of a dangerous organization" He exclaimed, shocked because she didnt know who they were. Samantha closed her eyes to fight the dizziness that overwhelmed her. She then, placed her hands firmly on his shoulders. "Tell me again without the shaking. Please" Her eyes opened, narrowing slightly. The young man brought his hands back to his side, as if they were burned. She scared him, but not as much as the Akatsuki. "They are members of the Akatsuki" He said.

Samantha nodded, faking recognition of the name 'Akatsuki'. She still didn't know what the Akatsuki was, she chuckled at the thought. Maybe she can stay a bit to find out more about the, oh so scary, Akatsuki. _'Nah.' _she thought to herself. To her it sounded like power abusers. She sighed becoming bored of this place, "I m going to leave... thanks for the uhhh... info." The man caught her before she could leave, "Wait, there's something you should know if you are to leave this village." Samantha turned her attention back to him impatiently. "Yes what is it now?" The man took a step closer towards her, "Be carefull around these parts, they say that theres a group of bandits with a pack of wolfs in the area. They have done great damage to this village so far, please be carefull." Samantha nodded her head, "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind." Samantha then walked away, _'Bandits huh?'_

Lost in her thoughts about the rumor she just heard she ran into someone by accident, "sorry" she said as the scared man walked away, _'Ok?'_ just when she was about to continue down the street to get back to the inn, something caught her eye, a jewelry shop, she slumpped over to the shop so she could glue herself to the display window. The jewels, diamonds and gems sent her beams of love as her eyes sparkled with fascination. Oh the money she could get by pawning all of that. An image of her swimming in a pool of yen came to her mind. Oh yeah…That was something she'd love. "Mmm…My babies" As she said that, she rubbed her cheek on the window.

"Um…Miss…Can I help you?" A male voice said. Samantha yelped in surprise, jumping back and noticing that a small crowd appeared, watching her. She looked at the middle aged man, the owner of the jewelry shop; he was looking at her with a raised brow and a shocked expression. Taking another step back, she turned and bolted. "I'M SORRY!" Echoed as a small cloud of smoke slowly disappeared, everyone stayed silent until a little girl spoke. "Momma…That lady is weird"

Out of breath, Samantha sat at a bench, trying to calm herself down. "Damn, I really need to stop doing that" Samantha stood back up to head back to the village. She was really starting to get bored here. So, she quickly made her way back to the Inn. She got all of her her stuff packed, she then went outside to load her stuff onto the horse. Samantha wiped her brow and then she mounted. "Well, time to head out" Said Samantha as she took one last look at the Inn. She took a deep breath and then she bolted away.

* * *

The rumors she heard around the village were kind of getting to Samantha. She couldnt afford to loose a horse like this. As she thought about them, she began to become nervous. She shook it off and continued ridding. It was about two hours later until she was out of the forest. She now entered the leaf covered paths of a bamboo thicket. All you could hear is the sound of hoofs galloping throughout the green shaded woods. The bamboo stretched high above Samantha's head. The wind made them all sway and dance as she bounded her way around the graveled paths. But suddenly…She came upon a gut feeling. It wasn't good. This made her halt her horse immediately. There was something terribly wrong about this picture…It was too…quiet.

She took the time to listen carefully to her surroundings. Nothing, nothing but the wind, but why was she having this strange feeling? Samantha waited a little longer…There has to be something here. It just wasn't right. Suddenly there was a bone chilling howl that shattered the silence. The cry was long and loud. Samantha jumped as her eyes widened. They were close. The horse began to react unusually. That was when she knew…She was not alone.


	3. Chapter 3

* * *

Disclaimer: We don't own Naruto, so shut up.

**Note: **Chapter updates will be random. So be patient. Next chapter will be up tomorrow, hopefully.

'_Blah'_ thoughts

"Blah" Speaking

* * *

Chapter 3:

Bandits

She looked around in all directions to see where the hounds were coming from. But she heard nothing. Suddenly the horse started to react weirdly, she turned back around to see seven drooling wolfs nashing their teeth at Samantha and her horse. The horse reared up on it's hind legs and cried out, trying to kick the hounds away. Samantha shrieked, she threw a smoke bomb at the ground and it dispursed. The hounds then became confused and dazed from the smoke, this was her chance to escape! Samantha took her chances and bolted in the opposite direction. Suddenly there were more running straight at her! she stopped her horse and went and took a sharp left to shake'em off. Soon enough they were on her tail! Samantha was frantically whipping her horse to try and lose the blood thirsty hounds at her back. She was sweating all over. Her eyes fixed on the horizon. The drooling hounds were getting closer and closer. Snapping their jaws, wishing it was flesh they were chewing. By this time, Samantha was becoming pissed. She did NOT want to lose this horse. That was all she could care about right now. Samantha had to lose them. She quickly grabbed her magnum from its gun strap; she aimed behind her as she turned to lock on the beasts. "Fuck you!" She screamed loud and long as she shot at the whimpering dogs. Her horse all of a sudden whinnied and reared on its hind legs, startling Samantha once again. She turned back to face a total of fifteen smiling bandits. It was now definitely on. (A/N: Try listening to 'Down with the sickness' from Disturbed now. It sets the mood quite well. )

The wolfs stopped chasing the horse, that was deffinatley not what they wanted, they wanted Samantha. Narrowing her eyes, Samantha knew she was going to kick some ass no matter what happened. She passed a threatening glare and then jumped off her horse, shooing it away. She unshiethed one of her katanas and she stood her ground. Her pistol in one hand and her katana in the other. The men and the wolfes made a circle around her. While doing so, they all took out their weapons. Samantha cocked her head, still glaring at the pigs. Her heart was pounding profusely, allowing her adrenaline to consume her.

"Attack!" One of the men shouted as they all began to run to Samantha. Samantha then chuckled and smiled. She then, with lighting speed, kicked off the ground hovering over the men who just now ran into each other. She fell feet first on their heads, and then flipped off them shooting in every direction. A wolf jumped at her from behind but Samantha quickly countered by slicing the hound in half. Samantha spun around and ran to a large bamboo stalk. The men followed her. She then ran up the bamboo stalk and kicked off it while shooting at the men underneath her. She landed on one knee as five men fell into a bloody mess. And just as the five fell, more came. Samantha went to shoot, but it was empty. She threw her gun to her side and sheathed her long sword.

Now was the time to seriously kick some ass. She reached for the two swords on each side of her and twirled them into her ready position. She gave them the hand signal to 'bring it' and so they did. Four men with swords made a circle around her swinging skillfully, but wildly at the beautifully deadly ninja. With every swing, Samantha countered, either with a dropkick to the face or slitting a throat. Their blades continuously met with force, followed by a battle cry.

* * *

Meanwhile, not too far away, Kakuzu suddenly heard the fight echoing throughout the bamboo forest. He stopped and turned around to face where the noise was coming from. "What is it Kakuzu?" Hidan asked, sort of confused because he just now began to hear the commotion. "I'm going to see what's going on" Kakuzu said as he began to run deeper into the foliage. "Hey Itachi, should we follow him?" Hidan asked the young man with the ponytail. Itachi then coolly replied to the hesitant ninja.

"No, let him do as he wishes. We should wait for him here"

"Very well, let's start a fire, its kind of cold" Replied Hidan with a sigh.

Kakuzu was normally the type of man to wait until the coast was clear and then steal whatever he could find, especially yen. But for some reason, he felt like this time he was going to fight. As he came closer, he felt a pang where his hearts would be. He was worried, but about what? Somehow he knew he was going to be involved. So he ran faster. The sooner he got there, the sooner he could figure out what was going on. Kakuzu stopped and hid behind some bushes. He couldn't believe what he was seeing! There was a woman, a woman fighting a huge pack of wolves and a hoard of bandits. This was amazing. But where did he see this woman before. She seemed somewhat familiar. Then he remembered. That woman from before! This was her! Kakuzu was fascinated and at awe by Samantha's presence and style. It was as if she knew what was coming. Kakuzu's eyes then softened. She was beautiful. She was like a magnificent tigress protecting her young. Oh how the warm morning rays of light hit her gorgeous skin. Kakuzu then shook his head. '_Wait, I don't even know this woman…But why am I here?'_Kakuzu thought to himself until he saw her in a bit of trouble.

* * *

Samantha was becoming tired, but she was fueled by anger and passion. She wasn't about to be shown up by these rogue sons-of-bitches. She then just about had enough. She backed up from the wounded but driven men. She crossed her arms, holding her blades in each hand. She let her chakra flow into her blades. Samantha loved the feeling; she dropped her head, closing her eyes as a wind of energy began to make some sort of twister around her. Just then her blades ignited with blue flames. The men started to realize who they were dealing with, so they began to walk backwards. The wolves fled with their tails tucked between their legs. "Boss, I think we should leave her alone. I don't think we can fight this crazy bitch!" The leader just continued to stand his ground. Until, Samantha raised her head slowly, opening her eyes. Her eyes were now a luminous white, glowing and magnificent.

Chills all of a sudden ran up and down the leader's spine. Just then, he began to back up too. "This chakra…" The boss exclaimed in awe while his men around him were shocked. Samantha was now confident; she had this in the bag. She cocked her head and grinned. "Prepare to die assholes!!" Samantha then charged at the men with amazing speed. The boss also had something up his sleeve through. Just before Samantha's blades came to a connection with the bosses' stomach and fore head, he whistled loud as a signal. All of a suddenly, Samantha was struck on the back of the head with a large wooden club. She fell, dropping her swords. Her sight was blurred and she was dizzy. She tried to stand up, but she found herself on the ground again. All of the men chuckled and smiled greedily at their new prize. "What can we do boss?" One of the lecherous men asked.

The boss turned around to smile at the men. "Do whatever the hell you want" All of the men then laughed, licking their lips. They held her down as they began to touch and kiss her, slowly trying to remove clothes. "Damn you fucking, disgusting, bastards. Get the fuck off me!!" Samantha struggled and struggled, but she was too dazed to know what was going on. "Hey pretty thing. What's under those clothes I w…AAAH!" All at once the men were repelled into the air by some force. Tentacles that were coming from somewhere in the thicket wrapped around the men and flung them onto the ground over and over. Slowly Kakuzu walked out of the bushes and into the small clearing. The ground was covered with carnage. Samantha tried to lift her head to see who was saving her, but alas, her sight was not to her advantage. All she could see was a large cloaked shadow standing in front of her.

The leader fell onto his backside, trying to squirm away. Trembling with fear he began to struggle to his feet. "AAAH! The Akatsuki!" The cowering leader ran away, leaving his men to a painful and slow death. Kakuzu was now done with these pathetic mortals, with one swift movement; Kakuzu constricted the men and broke their backs. Then with one last blow he clashed them all together making a huge pile of deformed bodies.

Samantha was loosing blood from the blow she got to the head. She was now so delirious that she couldn't say a word, almost like she paralyzed. Kakuzu then put his tentacles away in the stitched holes on his arms and back. He saw that Samantha was in critical condition, so he began to approach her and held her up. "Hey, can you speak? Are you ok?" Samantha didn't get the chance to see his face. She slowly nodded off and then... black.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: We don't own Naruto, so shut up

**Note: **Chapter updates will be random. So be patient.

'_Blah'_ thoughts

"Blah" Speaking

* * *

**Chapter 4:**

**A steamy meeting**

Samantha was out cold. Kakuzu tried to shake her awake, trying to get some kind of feedback. But she wouldn't come to. Kakuzu then checked her pulse. "Ok, she's alive" He said with relief. He saw the large gash on the back of Samantha's head and began to heal it with a type of healing ninjutsu. It didn't take long to completely heal her, so then he decided to take her where she could rest. He didn't know why he was being this kind, but he felt sorry for her. Picking her up, he then found her horse and began to walk back to the village with her on his shoulder.

* * *

Itachi took off his cloak and sat by the fire. It was indeed a cold afternoon. He turned to see Hidan trying to warm himself by the fire. To Itachi it wasn't that cold, just a little nippy. The two of them have been waiting for about two and a half hours now and Itachi was beginning to become impatient. Hidan sighed and looked up, wondering just what his partner was up to. "Hey Itachi?" Itachi did not reply to Hidan, he just continued to stare at the flames, but Hidan still inquired to continue. "Do you really think we should wait like this? I mean he's our partner and he could be in some kind of trouble" Itachi finally turned his head to the Jashin worshipping ninja and stated his opinion. "I don't have any doubts in Kakuzu. I'm sure he can take care of himself" Hidan then nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I guess you're right" Just then Hidan cracked a smile. "Damn, I still can't get that sweet piece of ass out of my mind! Goddamn she was _fine_!" Just then a rock hit Hidan right between the eyes. "You know you shouldn't always speak your mind, coming from you, maybe you shouldn't speak your mind at all."

Itachi had to shut him up somehow. "I'm going to take a nap, wake me up when Kakuzu gets back. Ok Hidan?" Hidan raised his hand in the air, giving Itachi the 'thumbs up' and allowed his hand to fall back down lazily. '_That asshole'_ Hidan thought to himself while rubbing his forehead. _'I ain't take'in orders from a kid like him!' _Hidan then laid down, resting his head on a rock and then he dozed off until Kakuzu returned.

* * *

Samantha began to wake up slowly. She heard her horse's hoofs and she was being carried by some stranger! Oh hell no. What was going on? She thought she was dead! Why is she here and who the hell was carrying her? She was definitely not having this. Quickly, Samantha wrapped her legs around Kakuzu and bent backwards, doing a backhand spring, sending Kakuzu flying forward. Kakuzu caught his fall by pushing on the ground with his hands so he could flip back and land on his feet. Samantha had no clue who the hell this guy was, but she was not about to have that happen to her again. Samantha charged toward Kakuzu with full force, kunais in each hand. Shocked and thrown completely off guard, Kakuzu tried to calm Samantha down. "Hey, hey, hey, calm down. Wait, I was only trying to help you!"

Samantha didn't believe him at all. Actually, she completely tuned him out. She repeatedly thrusted her kunais, hoping that she would hit, but Kakuzu dodged her every move. The way they were going, you could hardly see their legs and arms. They were moving so fast, that they were a blur. Poor Kakuzu, for once he was being kind and to a woman at that and he's being attacked. What did he do to deserve this he wondered. He had to make her stop…But how? She was so paranoid and blinded by anger that she wouldn't stop until she saw him dead.

Samantha realized that this was getting her nowhere, so she decided to use a little kick boxing to spice things up a bit. But Kakuzu knew exactly what she was doing. So he caught up with her styles and continued to hold her back. Now they were getting serious. Now their speed was so profound that they would disappear for a second and reappear clashing together. Zigging and zagging sent them both to the tree tops. (A/N: Try thinking about Dragon Ball Z) Kakuzu had to get her to calm down and fast! So without Samantha being aware, Kakuzu tackled Samantha from behind and they both were sent tumbling from the tree tops.

They both hit the ground. Kakuzu got on top of Samantha to hold her down. "Listen! I was only trying to help you!" With that statement, Samantha rolled over onto Kakuzu, holding him down. "I don't believe you!" With every statement said, they switched places. "What the hell is your problem?" Shouted Kakuzu. "It's you asshole! And I don't care what the hell you say, I don't believe you!" And with that last statement, Kakuzu lost his patience. He kicked her off by the stomach, sending her to fall on her back. But Samantha quickly got back up to stand in front of her opponent. She then recognized those eyes. "Wait, you're that guy from before. You're a member of that Akatsuki organization that I've heard about!"

Kakuzu grinned. "So you remember me?" Kakuzu said in a cool tone. "whats your name anyway?" he asked with a smile. Samantha blushed, and then gave him a grotesque look. "Why should I tell you my name!" By this time they were both a bit beat up. Samantha's ninja kimono was ripped a little and kind of dirty. She was showing a little more flesh, making Kakuzu not help himself but to scan her nasty curves. He didn't want to admit it, but she was hot! And to Samantha's point of view, Kakuzu wasn't half bad looking either.

She shook her head, trying to delete those thoughts from her mind. She had to be focused. Kakuzu then raised a brow, "Why not?" Samantha's face became more red by his response, "Why don't you come over here and find out?" Samantha said, wondering why she ever did say such a thing. Without a moment's hesitation, Samantha pulled out some wire from her pocket. She circled around him, allowing for the wire to wrap around his neck. She then ran up a tree and jumped off a branch on the other side, making Kakuzu dangle about five feet from the ground.

Samantha turned to face him "you wanna know my name now?" Samantha said cutley. Kakuzu pulled himself up and cut the wires and while in mid air, Kakuzu released his tentacles to wrap around Samantha tightly. He roughly pulled her so close that both of their noses were touching. Both pairs of eyes locked on one another. "Alright, let me find out then." The two fell silent, and they both exchanged glares at one another and then out of nowhere, Samantha broke from Kakuzu's hold by kicking him dead on his chest sending him flat on his back.

Samantha darted to her horse and then bolted her way towards the forest and disappeared in the foliage. Kakuzu had to gain back wind after that last blow. He sat there for a minute, trying to remember her face and her perfect form to him she was absolutely gorgeous. "Damn…" Kakuzu thought as he shook his head and stood back up to brush himself off. _'Who was she?'_ He wondered as the sound of her horse's hoofs began to travel further away, fading into the sky.

As Samantha was riding away, she looked back to see if Kakuzu was following her. Good, he wasn't. "What a perv!"She thought out loud. "I hate men!" Samantha spat at the ground to take the blood out of her mouth. '_I wonder what** his** name is? And why does he wear a mask like me?'_ As she traveled for the last couple of hours, that was all she could think about. She just couldn't help it. It was just something about him that sparked her interest. Who knows when they will meet again.

* * *

When Kakuzu came back to his comrades to find that they were asleep, he felt kind of bad. Kakuzu didn't really realize how long he had been gone for. He was tired and completely drained. So he sat down by the fire and stared off into space. He couldn't get his mind off her. Damn it! Why?! He shook his head and grabbed a canteen of water that was lying by their stuff; he opened it and then took a long swig. Hidan then stirred. "Hey Kakuzu, what happened?" Kakuzu just shook his head and replied. "Nothing much, just a small brawl." Kakuzu said, lying. Hidan nodded and then laid back resting his hands behind his head. Then Itachi woke up with a grumble. "Kakuzu, what did you do?"

Kakuzu shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing at all really, I stole a little bit of yen from a couple of men who died in a brawl. That's about it" Itachi nodded his head and then stood up and stretched. "We should head out now, Pein expects us to be back at H.Q. by tomorrow morning." The two ninjas agreed to Itachi's polite order and got their stuff together as Itachi put out the fire. All three of them put on their kasas and began travelling again. Kakuzu stopped to take one last look at the forest, and then he turned back to catch up with his fellow members.

* * *

Three days later

It was getting dark and Samantha needed to find a place to set camp. She also needed to allow her horse to rest. But where could she stop at? She trotted down the road a bit longer until she saw some steam emerge within the confinement of the forest. Samantha's eyes gleamed. '_Hot spring!'_ Samantha beamed with joy as she led her horse into the woods. She hadn't found an inn or a village for three days. So it wasn't very convenient for her when she had to take a bath. Ever since that huge fight between those bandits and that man with the hypnotizing eyes, she hadn't found a place to wash all the blood from her hair and body. She felt disgusting, but, oh how the gods been on her side tonight.

First she took a good look around to make sure nobody was watching and then she took off her clothes and went to sit down in the steamy, warm paradise that awaited her. "Oh god, this feels great…" Samantha dunked her head underwater to fully emerge herself. It was quite a big hot spring. There was even a small waterfall that fell in the middle of the spring. It was very large indeed. Samantha closed her eyes and sighed with content.

The hot water soothed her aching muscles and it felt all too good for her. The scenery not to mention was breathtaking. But then, something rustled in the water just across the way behind the rocks ahead. Startled, Samantha covered herself and grabbed a kunai from her clothes. Someone else was here in the springs too. Quietly, Samantha climbed the boulders and peeked over the top. It was a man! She had no clue who he was, he was quite handsome! Samantha couldn't help but stare.

He poured a bucket of water on top of him, allowing him to become soaked. His rock hard body glistened as beads of water trickled down his broad shoulders. His black hair stuck to his face and neck as he combed his fingers through it. He was, absolutely breathtaking. She bit her bottom lip as she felt her face become hot. She tried to get a bit closer, but she was afraid he might see her. He turned his head slightly and then she noticed. He had stitches just like her! But, he had them all over. Her heart skipped and she sat up to try and move closer.

As she tried to pull herself up, the algae was really slippery and she screamed as she fell into his side of the spring. '_Oh no!'_ Samantha thought as she tried to scurry away, but the rocks were too slippery. She was trapped. The man was a bit startled, so he confronted her. "Hey, who are you?" It was then that he noticed her a little from behind. "Wait, hold on. What are you doing here?" This man was Kakuzu. Samantha was completely embarrassed beyond belief. _'Don't look at him! Don't look at him! Don't look at him!' _Samantha still had her back turned to him. She wrapped her arms around her hips, holding herself so to say. "I…I was going to ask you the same thing" Samantha found herself trembling. Why was she so nervous? No, she couldn't be nervous, there's only a man standing behind her. Who is completely naked, built and not only that, he's wet.

Oh no, there's no possible way she could be scared, yeah right. He slowly began to approach her from behind. Samantha was dumbfounded; she had no clue what to do. She could do nothing but sit there, and wait. Kakuzu was standing right behind her now, oh so close to her. He began to place his hands on her shoulders "Are you going to tell me your name now?" he said whispering in her ear. "Get away from me you perv!" she swung back the hand she held the kunai in and attempted to stab him but he caught her wrist. She glared up at him, "I just want to know your name.." Samantha continued to glare but she couldnt help but blush. She turned her head away from him. Kakuzu chuckled, "I don't want anything else so dont take it that way." Samantha looked back up at him, "You lie!" Kakuzu chuckled again, "Stop laughing!" Kakuzu shook his head and smiled. "Sorry" he said, "I get a bit carried away sometimes." Samantha said nothing and continued to glare at him, "Whatever." She snatched her hand back, and turned her back to him. Kakuzu sighed, "You know," he started, "I was the one who saved you three days ago." Samantha spun around to look at him, "What?" she hesitated, "That was you?" Kakuzu nodded. Samantha then realized that she attacked him when she wasn't supose to, "Oh my gosh... I m so sorry!" She said trying to ask him for forgiveness. Kakuzu shrugged his shoulders, "I was trying to tell you, but you wouldn't listen, it's ok it happens." Samantha put her head down, trying not to meet eyes with him. There was an akward silence for a short moment, until Kakuzu broke the sudden silence, "So hows your head?" Samantha woke up from her daze, and looked up at him, "huh, oh yeah, my head... I-It's ok." Kakuzu nodded, "Thats good." Samantha flicked her eyes up to his for a moment to see that he was only a couple inches away from her. She flinched a little and then she calmed down. Their eyes then locked. Kakuzu's face began to feel hot as he felt himself leaning closer and closer to her lips. Samantha was frozen, until she finally snapped out of it and placed her hand between their lips, just before they could kiss. Her heart was pounding, "Please" he said softly, making Smantha's heart flutter, "Tell me your name." Samantha closed her eyes and rested her lips on the back of her hand, "Samantha.." she whispered. She could feel him smile on her hand. "Do I get a reward for saving you?" Asked Kakuzu placing his hands politley around her waist. They both closed their eyes, her hand still between them. She chuckled quietly and slowly started to move her hand out of the way. When suddenly, Hidan came around the corner, "WHOA WHAT THE HELL!?" Samantha and Kakuzu both flinched and looked at Hidan. Samantha quickly went back over to her side, grabbed her stuff and rode away, she looked back one more time to see kakuzu, and she was gone. Kakuzu stayed silent, his back to Hidan. Hidan began to back up, "uhhh... did I interrupt something?" Kakuzu looked back to his partner, "Kinda..." he said still in a daze. Hidan got into the water and rested against the edge of the spring, "Sorry about that man, who was she?" Kakuzu kept his back to him, not taking his eyes away from the path Samantha left on. "Her name was... Samantha."

* * *

As Samantha rode further away from the hot spring, she mentally began to kick herself. '_Oh my god, did I really almost kiss him, what is my problem I don't even know the guy!' _When Samantha knew she was a good twenty-five miles away from where she once was, she set camp and went to sleep hugging her blanket. Why did she give in to him? Why did she do what she did? Those questions continued to repeat themselves in her mind as she forced herself to shut her eyes and sleep, but what made her feel so weird is that…

It felt so right.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: We don't own Naruto, so shut up

**Note: **Chapter updates will be random. So be patient.

'_Blah'_ thoughts

"Blah" Speaking

* * *

**Chapter 5:**

**Ninja-n-The Middle**

The rising sun's warm rays kissed Samantha's cheeks. It was a fine morning. It wasn't as cold as it normally would be. Samantha rolled over on her back and stretched with a lingering groan. She sat up scratching her head. As groggy as could be, she reached for her mirror in her bag. She got up and brushed her bed head to tame it, and then she went to go reach for her hair tie…But wait…It wasn't there! Samantha rummaged through her items as thoroughly as she possibly could, but she found nothing that was even close to resembling a black ribbon. "Oh my god! Where is my ribbon?" She became quite agitated, still trying to look for it, but then it hit her. "Oh no!" Samantha now remembered that when she was at the hot spring with that man, she dropped it while trying to get away.

"Holy crap! How stupid can I get?" Samantha kicked a pebble on the ground and then pouted. "My hair's a mess" She whined. "I can't go walking around like this!" Samantha growled and sighed, still worrying about her hair. She began to think as she crossed her arms and tapped her foot. '_What am I going to do, what am I…'_ Just then, on the road passing by, there was a monk. He was wearing robes and a kasa. Samantha then had an idea.

The young monk sang to himself as he watched the birds fly overhead. He seemed very happy. He looked as if he had nothing to worry about in this world. Then suddenly Samantha came out from behind him and covered his mouth with her hand. She shoved the innocent monk into the bushes and she tackled him. Samantha knocked him out and took his kasa. Samantha then affirmed to herself. "This should do fine."

* * *

Kakuzu woke up to find Hidan's leg over his waist and his arm across his chest. "What the hell?!" Kakuzu pushed Hidan off him. Hidan jumped up realizing what he was doing. "Oh sorry about that" Hidan smiled and scratched his head. He stretched as he turned to his left to wake up Itachi. "Hey, Itachi" Hidan tried to poke Itachi awake, but he wasn't affected. "I wouldn't do that if I were you" Kakuzu warned. Hidan then chuckled while starting to poke Itachi harder "Eh, what's the worse that can happen?" Just then Itachi woke up to punch Hidan directly in the jaw making him fall backwards. "I told him not to" Kakuzu said, while standing up. The young ninja just replied with a zombie-like groan as he laid back down. "Uhh, five more minutes" Itachi yanked the covers over his head, hoping he could sleep in more.

Kakuzu shook his head and snickered as Hidan rolled on the ground at his feet. "Get up you idiot" Hidan looked up at his partner. "Alright, shut up Stitch" Kakuzu became quickly annoyed and picked up Hidan by his collar. "What did you call me you religious bastard!" Hidan grabbed Kakuzu's collar too and affirmed aggressively. "I didn't stutter you overgrown voodoo doll!!" As the two began to argue, Itachi sat up infuriated at the fact that he couldn't go back to sleep. "ENOUGH!" The two men immediately stopped and stared at Itachi wide eyed. "Quit acting like retards and get your shit together! You two make a disgrace to the name Akatsuki!" The two men let go of each other, embarrassed. "Whoa" They all packed their things without a word and began to move out.

While on the road, Kakuzu found something on the ground. He picked it up and observed it. "What's that? A ribbon?" Hidan said. Kakuzu looked at it hard and then he remembered. It belonged to that woman! Kakuzu tucked it away in his pocket as they continued on. "Uh…Do you think we'll make it back in time?" Hidan asked, hoping that they would so that Pein's wrath won't appear if they fail. Itachi glanced at the Jashin worshipper. "If there are no more unnecessary stops" Hidan nodded and looked at Kakuzu with a knowing glance. Kakuzu just stayed silent, not really in the mood to talk. Better get to HQ quickly than to wait any longer.

* * *

Samantha smiled underneath her mask as she walked beside her horse. It's a beautiful day. A good feeling swelled in her, oh yeah, it really is a good day and she might get lucky if some rich person came by. Oh! Maybe a nice town where she can relax. Who knows, she'd just have to wait. Her horse whined and then snorted as he stomped the hard ground, getting Samantha's attention. "What is it?" She said, keeping a hold of the reigns. The horse pulled, trying to go in a different direction. Samantha sighed and gave in. Stubborn horse. Following the horse, her mind drifted off to what happened last night. She can still remember his touch on her body, the feel of his lips on her own. She shook her head, blushing profusely. What was she thinking! He's a stranger, hell; both of them are to each other. Although, it did feel right. Sighing, Samantha stopped walking, lost in her thoughts only to get interrupted by her horse shoving her harshly to move. "Hey! Watch it…You are very impatient" The horse replied with a snort while nodding. Samantha shook her head, this is one weird horse. "Alright…Let's keep moving" The horse snorted again and somewhat led her to where he wanted to go.

The sound of water reached her ears. That was when she noticed her dry mouth and while she walked, she reached into her pack to retrieve her canteen. Samantha shook it, hearing water slosh around in the empty space. '_Refill…A good idea' _She thought. The horse quickened his pace, making Samantha groan in response. This horse…Jeeze! Arriving at a small opening, a river with pristine water flowed calmly. The two of them rushed to the bank of the river. Samantha just kneeled on the bank, filling her canteen with water. Her horse just started drinking on the spot. Once Samantha finished, she pulled her mask down a bit, cupping water in her hands and she drank. The cool water was heavenly to her lips, mouth and throat. Removing the kasa she stole, she splashed a bit of water on her face. It felt good. Drying her face, she walked over to her horse, putting the canteen away in her pack and pulled her mask back on. Just as she was about to put the kasa back on Samantha felt six pairs of eyes on her. That unnerved her and sent chills down her spine. Who the hell was staring at her?! Turning her head, she tensed at the sight of Itachi, Kakuzu and Hidan.

Said three stared at Samantha. Kakuzu stared, remembering everything from the previous night. He also has her ribbon. Hidan recognized her as that one chick they saw at that one village. As for Itachi, he had no idea who she is other than a village girl. They were on the other side of the river. Kakuzu smirked from under his kasa and spoke to his partner and Itachi in a hushed tone. "Let's have a little fun" Hidan nodded, taking it the wrong way and Itachi merely shrugged, not caring.

Samantha stared at them, uneasy and curious as to why they were staring at her. Was it her hair? She hoped not. They just stood there…Not moving, at all. That one guy was there too. At the sight of him, her cheeks flushed. '_Don't blush! What has gotten into me?!'_ She mentally scolded herself as she continued to stare at Kakuzu.

Kakuzu held up his right hand in greeting, then reached into his cloak as Samantha's eyes followed the movement. Oh how he was going to enjoy this. In his hand he held her ribbon and he kept note of her reaction. He saw her eyes widen in shock before narrowing in anger. Now he waited for the action to happen. "Is this yours?" Kakuzu said teasingly.

Samantha looked at Kakuzu still entranced by his presence. "Yes, that's my ribbon." She took a step forward. Kakuzu then lifted a hand ordering her to hault. "Nope, not so fast." Samantha cocked her head, "Your gonna have to catch one of us to get it." Samantha's eyes narrowed sarcasticly, "Ohh, a game now huh?" Kakuzu smiled from under his mask. Samantha smiled back from under her mask also accepting their challenge. "Alright but you'll be sorry." she said taking out a pair of kunais. "Ok then, come get us." Just then, all three of them scattered into a different direction into the forest.

Samantha chased after Kakuzu first, since he has her ribbon.She was starting to have fun. Kakuzu knew she was right behind him, he can feel her. Looking to the side, Hidan waved at him and Kakuzu passed by him giving him the ribbon. They were playing a ninja version of monkey in the middle, but with sharp objects involved. Samantha stopped on a branch, switching directions to go after Hidan and threw the dagger at him, nicking him on the arm. He then passed the ribbon to Itachi, making Samantha go after him. Kakuzu was following her every move. Itachi then threw the ribbon back to Kakuzu and he caught it, he noticed Samantha change directions in a flash to chase after him. Chuckling under his breath, he zig zagged through the three branches and once in a while jumped down to run a bit.

Samantha caught onto the pattern when it was repeated a second time. A plan formed in her mind and she set it into action. Disappearing, she stayed hidden in the trees, scanning for Kakuzu or Itachi. She could easily identify Hidan by the nick on his arm, but she was waiting until her ribbon went to Itachi and she would strike like a woman ath a shoe sale or worse. The ribbon is with Itachi, time to strike.

The three now stood in a fairly large circle on the ground. They noticed that she stopped going after them, very odd. Odd for Kakuzu since he knew she wanted it back judging from her reaction. Just where is she? He can sense her. Hidan merely inspected his arm; it was a shallow cut, nothing bad. Itachi stood there with a blank expression while holding the ribbon. Why was he doing this again? Soon, a feeling of something coming at him filled his body. In a flash, he turned around, kunai in his free hand and two blades in his face. One aimed at his neck and the other one at his head, already through his kasa.

Samantha had a kunai at her neck, barely touching, but there. She had her blades ready to lop off the top of his head and lice his neck open, but she stopped when he countered with the kunai. Hidan and Kakuzu watched, tense, but wondering what will happen. Will they kill each other? "Alright I got you, now give me back my ribbon" She commanded, narrowing her eyes as she inched her blades closer. Itachi did the same. Not really wanting to shed unnecessary blood, he held out the ribbon to her. They pulled their weapons back at the same time. Samantha put her blades away and grabbed her ribbon. "Thank you" She said and turned to leave. "Oh! One more thing" Samantha walked over to Kakuzu, smiling under her mask. Kakuzu just stood there, watching her movement as she approached him. Samantha giggled and pressed her lips to his. This action caught him by surprise and caused Hidan's jaw to drop and Itachi to raise a brow. Pulling back, Samantha patted his shoulder and left.

Kakuzu stood there for a second before turning around to mutter something under his breath. She drove him up a wall. "Hey…Uh…Kakuzu…" Hidan started, only to back up when his partner chuckled and turned around with the same ribbon in his hand. "She has a fake" Now he'd wait till the next time they meet. "Kakuzu, Hidan…Let's get moving!" Itachi said, a clean cut on his kasa. Without another word, they left.

* * *

Samantha was back at the river, glad that she has her ribbon back and that her horse stayed in the same place, just a bit farther down. _'Oh yeah…A nice day'_ She thought looking down at her hand to see a leaf instead of her ribbon. "No way!!" She practically yelled and smiled. A substitution jutsu, he was clever._ 'That just gives me another reason to see him again I guess.'_ She then Mounted her horse, she put on the kasa she stole and smirked. She couldn't wait till they met again. With that though, she rode off.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: We don't own Naruto, so shut up

Disclaimer: We don't own Naruto, so shut up

**Note: **Chapter updates will be random. So be patient.

'_Blah'_ thoughts

"Blah" Speaking

* * *

**Chapter 6**

**The Horse Named Thunder and Kakuzu's Unwanted Fate**

It was now getting dark. The sun was beginning to set and the stars were starting to scatter in the blue, pink, and orange sky. Samantha yawned as she lazily rested her head on her horse's neck. "Goodness I'm tired." The horse whinnied in response, shaking its head from side to side so Samantha could stay focused. Samantha scratched her head. "What? You tired too?" The horse simply huffed. Samantha smiled, "It's like you know what I'm saying to you." She giggled as she rubbed the side of the horse's neck. "You know what; I'm really starting to like you… Maybe I should give you a name." The horse happily neighed at the comment. "Oh so you do want a name?" Samantha thought hard, "Crap! I can't think of anything… oh well, Ill think of something later." Samantha simply stared at the sunset fading away on her right. "I know!" she exclaimed happily. "Ill name you Thunder, how about that?" the horse happily neiged in response. Samantha smiled, "Alright then, your name is Thunder."

As the sun continued to set she smiled, remembering Kakuzu. She kinda missed him, _'I wonder what he's doing right now?_' she thought to herself as she scanned the field of flowers on her right, the sun made them all unique in a special way. Suddenly she got an Idea and then smiled. She lead Thunder into the flower field. When they were in the middle she stopped and dismounted. she then lay down in the tall flowers. She sighed and sat up to look at the so to be night sky. She thought of Kakuzu again and giggled. _' I wonder if he likes looking at the stars?' _she looked back at Thunder to see that he was rolling around in the flowers, just having a good old time. She laughed at him and got up to sit next to him. "What in the world are you doing?" the horse sat up and neighed in response. Samantha knelt down and started to pet his stomach. Thunder just plopped down and let her spoil him. She giggled again, "Your so funny." Then she finally stopped to sit back and relax. Thunder sat up wondering why she stopped and nipped at Samantha's shoulder, "ouch." she said, "You butthead!" She laughed again petting his neck. Then all of a sudden… she heard a deep growling sound… it was her stomach. "Oh my." Samantha said looking down at her stomach and rubbing it. Thunder perked his ears and looked at her stomach along with her. They both looked at eachother, "Are you hungry because I am." Thunder nodded ecxtatically. "Ok then" Samantha then let out a big yawn. "I guess I m a bit tired too, lets go find a place we can stay for the night." Thunder happily got up and huffed. Samantha was just about to mount him when she saw something, why didn't she see this before! It was a white cherry blossom tree. She stared at it for a while before she decided to ride Thunder to get closer to it. When she approached it, the wind began to pick up. Petals began to fall from the limbs and onto the ground. She smiled as she held out her hands to catch some of them. "Hey Thunder," thunder replied by moving his head up to her. "You know, my family really loved cherry blossom trees." Thunder huffed softly, "My father and I used to plant one a year on our property..." she looked far off in a daze, "We used to have so much fun..." Thunder huffed again softly. Samantha took one last look at the Cherry blossom tree and lead Thunder back onto the trail. "Could you allow for me to sleep on your back while you find us a place to stay?" Thunder neighed, "alright... thank you."

* * *

As the men tried to sneak their way into headquarters without being caught, they began to contemplate whether they should just barge in and take Pein's wrath now or later. Hm, not that hard of a decision, even Itachi was scared. All three of them slipped their way throughout the halls as quiet as they could. Ya know, being ninja and all you think it might be easy. "Sheiiit!!" Out of nowhere a voice came from the shadows and scared the crap out of the men. With all three of their hearts (well…really plural with Kakuzu about the hearts) up to their throats, Hidan squealed like a little girl as Itachi jumped into Kakuzu's arms. Kakuzu angrily replied into the shadows. "Damn it Tobi!" Kakuzu tried to be as quiet as he could even as tempted as he was. While laughing, a younger sounding man wearing an orange mask stepped out from the shadows. "Oh my god, ya'll should have seen your faces! Hahahahahaha!!" Tobi quickly shut up when he saw Itachi's Sharingan being directed right at him.

Itachi was both embarrassed and infuriated. "Mangieku Sharingan!!" Tobi squealed while Itachi chased him all over headquarters, but the laughing stopped when Tobi ran into a tall, rock hard figure. A being with eyes so impenitrating that it gave you nightmares. They were almost glowing. His eyes were gray with a ripple like design around his pupils. That glare was death itself. All the members quickly bowed in the mans presence, he flicked his wrist as if to shoo them away and he gave a look on his face like he was disgusted. Everything about him gave them all goose bumps. This man … was Pein. The Akatsuki leader. "Please forgive me leader-sama." Said Tobi sadly, "I didn't mean to wake you up this late at night." Pein said nothing but he gave Tobi the signal to leave by just looking at him. Tobi bowed quickly and ran to his room. The three men stood in a line in front of Pein with there heads down. Oh they knew they were in trouble. Pein cleared his throat and then crossed his arms. His deep voice broke the sudden silence. "Why are you late coming back from your mission?" While Kakuzu was looking in another direction, minding his own business, Itachi and Hidan innocently pointed their fingers at Kakuzu. Peins eyes narrowed on the stitched man. "Oh, so it was your fault Kakuzu?" Said Pein in an agitated tone. Kakuzu looked around like he didn't know what was going on. Then he shot a glare at the two younger men at his right.

Kakuzu figured he wasn't going to lie so he began to confess, " Pein-sama, I can expla-." "Enough." Pein cut off Kakuzu firmly causing an eerie silence for a moment. Pein gave a glare at Itachi and Hidan and shooed them away with his hand. In the midst of Pein shooing Hidan and Itachi, Kakuzu tried to sneak away, "Hey!" Pein shouted causing Kakuzu to jump and bow immediatley. Oh how they all dreaded the wrath of Pein. The wise leader thought for a moment as to what he should do with him. Kakuzu still kept his head down until his leader spoke. "Kakuzu…" Kakuzu lifted his head to meet eye contact with Pein, trying to be respectful. Pein looked over Kakuzu's shoulder and began to head for the door. Kakuzu followed him. Pein went outside and faced Kakuzu. Finally Pein spoke. "Kakuzu I am very disappointed in you, you're one of my best men… I expected better coming from you." Kakuzu nodded, taking the blame and punishment he knew he deserved. "Since you are slacking… and it seems to me that you are not quite on your game. I will give you a solitary mission." Kakuzu began to listen carefully. "Kakuzu, I want you to do something both easy and challenging, maybe even death threatening."

Kakuzu nodded again in acknowledgement. Pein cocked his head and kinda grinned. "I want for you to……. Go get some groceries." Kakuzu just about stumbled over, '_What?! Groceries, that's not life threatening? I think Pein is getting old.' _Pein noticed that Kakuzu was off in his own little world so he crossed his arms and tapped his foot, waiting for Kakuzu to get back on track. Kakuzu finally noticed that he was being waited on so he bowed in forgiveness. "I'm sorry Pein-sama… please continue." Pein grumbled, "Thank you. Now the other thing I ask of you." Pein gave Kakuzu a manila folder containing a lot of information. The papers looked like they were about to fall out because it was so full. Kakuzu opened it, it was a bounty! Great, something he's good at! Pein grinned evilly and gained Kakuzu's attention again. "This bounty has been wanted for over three years. It will not be easy." Kakuzu looked up at Pein, somewhat curious. Pein continued, "This mission will determine whether you will stay here in this organization." Kakuzu's hearts dropped. He's going to have to be serious about this, "Here is your bounty…" Pein threw a picture to Kakuzu, "I will give you two months to complete this task. If you do not come back daybreak on January 13th… you will be dead to me, or if you come back late… you will be banished from this organization and seen as an enemy." Kakuzu realized the seriousness of this situation.

Pein put his hands behind his back and headed towards the H.Q. entrance. Kakuzu stayed in the direction he was, having his back facing H.Q. Pein stopped and turned his head. "You will leave tomorrow to go get the groceries; you will then come back with them no longer than six days. As soon as you bring them back you will make the food for everyone, serve it, eat it, and then you will be on your way to collect you bounty the next morning… sleep well." Kakuzu nodded once more. "Hai!" Kakuzu heard the door shut behind him. He looked back to see that his leader went back inside. Kakuzu looked down at the picture……

It was Samantha.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: We don't own Naruto, so shut up

Disclaimer: We don't own Naruto, so shut up

Disclaimer: We don't own Naruto, so shut up

**Note: **Chapter updates will be random. So be patient.

'_Blah'_ thoughts

"Blah" Speaking

**Chapter 7: **

**Childish games**

November 14.

Samantha woke up to find herself at the leaf village...Konoha! Thunder whinnied when he saw that she was awake. The sun had already set and the moon was finally set up high among the gleaming stars. She looked around groggily and rubbed her eyes. She stretched and then yawned. "I m ready to get some food, how about you?" Samantha said as she patted Thunder on the side of his strong broad neck. The horse simply nodded. Samantha shook her head, "How is it that you seem to understand me?" Thunder shook his head from side to side. Samantha shrugged, "I guess its just coincidence."

After about a half hour of looking around; Samantha and Thunder continued to make their way down the winding paths of the village. Hopefully Samantha would find a place to eat before Samantha's stomach starts to roar. Finally, Samantha came across something that sparked her interest. Ramen. The aroma of hot chicken broth and succulent noodles was in the air. The smell of it made her mouth water. Thunder's ears perked up in interest. Samantha then parked Thunder next to the stand and approached the bar. She sat down and got the cooks attention by waving. "What can I do for ya?" he asked kindly. Samantha smiled, "If it's possible, do you think you could feed my horse too if you have anything to give him?" The cook nodded, "Sure thing, I got some oats in the back I could give him." Samantha smiled from under her mask, "Thank you," she said reaching for her yen pouch, "How much will that be along with a bowl of ramen?" The man simply held up his hands, "Don't worry about it, everything is on me." Samantha took a double take, "Why thank you very much… but why would you do that?" The cook leaned in closer to her, "Who wouldn't want to be courteous to a pretty woman like yourself?" Samantha stared at him blankly and blushed. There was an awkward silence for a moment, and then the cook finally sat back up and started to go to the back of the booth, "Your food will be out shortly ma'am." Samantha's eyes narrowed, _'That was weird.'_ She thought to herself as she put her yen pouch away.

Finally she noticed on her right there were four other ninjas sitting next to her. One was a man with white-ish gray hair, and his face was covered with a mask like her. He also had his left eye covered with his headband, he was reading a book. This one was not eating, but the three younger looking ninjas were. There was a girl with short pink hair and green eyes. She kind of looked like a brawler with the gloves she was wearing; she was eating politely and patiently.

But the two other young men seemed like they were competing to see how much ramen they could eat. One of the young men wore a white kimono. It was open quite a bit, revealing his chest. He was wearing black pants and a purple obi-like rope around his waist. He also had black hair. '_He's cute'_ She thought. Then she observed the other contestant. This one was quite cute also. He had blonde hair that was styled to spike up. He wore an orange and black jacket. What interested her about this fellow is that he had a strange aura. Very powerful…but controlled, he also had whisker like scars on his cheeks. The view was kind of funny to her, so, she giggled. They heard her giggle and looked over to her at the same time. The two young men still had ramen hanging from their mouths. They seemed to be curious as to who she was. Samantha blushed in embarrassment. "Hi" Samantha said nervously, she was worried that they knew who she was. So she started to think that she should start leaving. But actually, the girl smiled nicely and said hi back. Samantha breathed a sigh of relief.

The older man with the mask waved kindly and continued to read his book. The black haired teen nodded his head in a silent way of saying hey. Then the other teen cut the noodles hanging from his mouth and finished swallowing his food. He then smiled a big smile and said. "Hey, I'm Naruto Uzumaki! You from around here?" Samantha innocently shook her head no as her ramen was brought out to her. Naruto scratched his head. "Oh, cool, well how are you?" Samantha now began to feel comfortable again. "I was just passing by to find something to eat and a place to sleep" Naruto smiled again. Samantha then found her manners. "Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Samantha" Naruto shook his head. "It's ok. Nice to meet you. Well that girl right over there is Sakura, that guy right over there is my sensei Kakashi, and right here next to me is Sasuke, the Crow Boy" Samantha laughed at the comment. Sasuke glared up at Naruto and continued eating. "Why do you call him crow boy?" Kakashi, Sakura and Naruto all laughed as Sasuke grumbled under his breath. "We all call him crow boy because of this video we saw on the internet" Sakura said with a snicker. "Oh" Samantha said. (A/N: You have to see a video called: Naruto Parody- Akamaru Hamster Dance. In order to understand the Crow Boy thing, it's on YouTube just to let ya know )

After they finished their food about twenty minutes later, they continued to talk amongst one another. Kakashi looked over to notice Thunder, "Samantha is that your horse?" They all looked over to see Thunder staring back at them. Samantha smiled as kept note of the three younger ninja's expressions. "Yes that is my horse Thunder." Sakura was at awe while Sasuke and Naruto just started at him. He was the biggest horse they've ever seen! "Wow!" Sakura exclaimed, "He's so pretty, and big too!" Thunder looked around wondering why everyone was staring at him. "Can I pet him?!" asked Sakura excitedly. Samantha chuckled, "Sure go ahead." Sakura happily got up and approached Thunder who was still a little bit confused by whats going on. As she started to pet him he began to calm down. He liked the attention so he didn't care anymore. Naruto and Sasuke looked at Samantha, "Are we allowed to pet him too?" asked Naruto. Samantha nodded, "Of course you can, just don't stand behind him, horses don't like that." They then both got off their stools and stood by Sakura and began to pet him just as Sakura was. Kakashi put away his book, "So Samantha, where are you from?" Samantha brought her attention away from Thunder and the others and to Kakashi, "Oh uh, I m actually from the Wind Country, but I was raised in the Moon Country." Kakashi nodded, now interested, "I see, that's cool; I've never met anyone from the Moon Country." Samantha shrugged, "It's alright I guess." Kakashi cocked his head, "What do you do for a living, if you don't mind me asking?" Samantha thought for a moment, of course she couldn't tell him she was a criminal so that was out of the question. So she decided to tell him about her past carrier, "Well, I m a dancer, Kinda like a gypsy and kinda like a geisha." Kakashi nodded. "Sounds interesting." He said as dirty thoughts ran through his mind. "So, what is it that you do?" Asked Samantha, turning the question on him. "Kakashi smiled from under his mask, "I am an elite leaf ninja, and I am the sensei for Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke." Samantha rubbed her arm, "I see." She responded kindly. Then finally Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke made their way back to their seats.

They all yawned at the same time. They then all looked at each other and laughed. "Hey, do you want to stay over with us?" Sakura asked Samantha, "It would be more convenient for you so you don't have to spend any yen." Samantha thought it over, she doesn't really know these people… but it would save her yen. Sounds like a good idea to her. _'Why not' _Samantha thought. Samantha looked at Kakashi. "Only if it's ok with you?" Kakashi nodded his head, "That's fine with me, your not a bother." Samantha smiled, "Thank you very much." She said looking at Sakura, "Its very kind of you to offer lodging for me." Sakura waved her hand, "Nah its fine, besides all the inn's here are booked other than the really nasty ones that are at too high of a price." Samantha bowed, "Thank you again." "You're welcome."

When they reached the house they were staying at, Samantha put Thunder back in the stables before going inside to put her stuff away. When she got inside she met everyone else in the living room. She noticed a poster on the coffee table. Her curiosity got the best of her and she picked it up to look at it. Samantha froze… it was a picture of her mug shot without her mask on. Thank god the poster didn't state her name, just her nickname, The Phantom. She had to be careful tonight. The last thing she wants right now is a swarm of dangerous ninjas chasing her all night. She had to think fast. How could she hide herself? Then it hit her, a ginjutsu! She quickly did some hand signs and she touched her face and her neck all the way down to her feet. Her stitches were gone; her eyes were a jade green and her skin a caramel tan. She huffed a sigh of relief and started to head back to the hallway. When suddenly she accidentally ran into Kakashi. As she was falling Kakashi went to grab her; taking one hand behind her head and one hand on her back. In the process of catching her, her mask came off. They were no more than two inches away from each other. They locked eyes with one another for the longest time. Until they both came back to their senses and separated not saying a word. Samantha blushed as she walked further down the hall. Kakashi did the same.

Samantha followed the sound of Sakura and Naruto's voices until she reached a door that was already opened and the light was on. She peered inside and saw Naruto and Sakura talking. They were talking about something having to do with different types of jutsus. Samantha politely tapped on the door. They both looked at Samantha and smiled, "Come in." Said Sakura welcomingly; as Samantha entered, Sakura shooed Naruto out. "You want to go to the hot springs with me?" Samantha smiled; she would love that right about now. "Sure." Samantha said with a smile.

The girls gathered their things and headed out to the woods. Samantha still couldn't get that awkward moment between her and Kakashi out of her head. Sakura could see the expression on her face. "Whats the matter?" she asked curiously. Samantha was pulled away from her thoughts, "Oh nothing, just ready to get to those springs." Sakura smiled, "Me too." When they finally reached the hot spring, the girls didn't hesitate to get into the water. The two of them sighed as they lay back. "Feels great!" Said Sakura as she laid her head back on a rock. Samantha nodded as the warm water sunk into her pores. They both sat in the water, relishing the moment until Sakura broke the silence, "So," Sakura said turning her head to her. "Yes?" replied Samantha relaxed "Is there a special someone in your life?" Asked Sakura. Samantha blushed, "I-I don't know… well, I guess so." Sakura sighed, "Aww so you do?" Samantha hugged herself smiling warmly at the thought of Kakuzu.

"Well… there is this one man."

Top of Form


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8:**

**Girl talk**

Sakura cocked her head to the side and waited for her to continue. Samantha cupped her cheeks with her hands as she blushed… remembering Kakuzu's face, she smiled.

"I don't know his name… but he and I have met a couple times on the road."

Sakura giggled, "So what's he look like!"

"Well, he's got black hair to about his shoulders, he's **really** well built, and he's tall and strong."

She sighed, "Wow… I can't even describe how hypnotizing his eyes are!"

Sakura leaned in more because she was interested. "His eyes… are stern but somewhat gentle. They are an emerald green in the pupils and the rest of his eyes are black instead of white like ours." Sakura then thought to herself for a moment… he sounds familiar… "Uhhh… tell me a bit more about him if you can." Samantha nodded her head happily and continued. "Ok, well he has a mask kind of like mine; he has stitches allover like I do… kind of. It's funny really." Then Sakura realized who Samantha was talking about, "Whoa!" Shocked, Sakura continued what she was going to say, "Wait," She began to smile, "You don't mean Kakuzu of the Akatsuki!"

The two girls were quiet for a moment. "So that's his name!" They both laughed while holding their stomachs. Sakura spoke after she caught their breaths, "WOW! He's perfect for you!" Samantha wiped the tears from her eyes, hence from the laughing. "Really, do you think so? Wait! Hold on how do you know him?" Sakura then sat by Samantha. "Well I don't know him, know him… but yet I do… I don't know I'm confused." Samantha chuckled. "You confused me."

The sky was a creamy gray as the snow silently fell. It was calming and soothing. How silent it was… the wind stopped blowing as hard. Samantha sunk down lower into the water, allowing herself to become warmer. She could see her breath as she observed the white wonderland before her. "So how do you know him?" Asked Samantha while turning to Sakura. "Well, you see… the Akatsuki doesn't get along with everyone. So we have had to fight him before. And not only have we had to fight him, but most of the other members also." Samantha laid her head back in contentment. "Ok, I'm not confused anymore." Then Samantha had an idea. "Soooooo." Sakura faced Samantha knowing that the question was about to be turned on her. "It there a special someone in **your **life?" Asked Samantha. Sakura blushed.

"Ummm, you promise not to tell?"

"Promise."

"Ok… well I've had this thing for Sasuke for the longest time since grade school."

Samantha nudged Sakura with her elbow.

"Hey, hey." Sakura laughed.

"Stop that." The girls laughed.

"So continue on…" Samantha said anxiously.

"Ok, ok, well…Sasuke is the type of guy you can't get tangled up with. If you make him mad, then you're done for. But the good thing about that is that you know he sure isn't a wimp! He can actually be very dreamy…and kind…and…" Sakura began to trail off as she began to blush like a cherry. "Oh my Sasuke huh?" Samantha stated. "What's been on your mind?" Sakura put her hands on her hips. "What's in** your** mind now?" The two love sick girls laughed in unison. Samantha looked up. She stopped laughing for a moment, knowing that he wasn't here. Kind of made her feel sad…She wanted to see him, just once. "What's wrong?" Asked Sakura, concerned. Samantha closed her eyes. "I wonder what he's doing right now" Sakura placed a hand on Samantha's shoulder. "I'm sure you'll see him again soon" Said Sakura. Samantha replied with a long sigh. "I hope so." she said looking at her feet in the water. "Were not even together, we hardly even know each other Sakura... why do I feel like this?" Sakura bent her knees up to her chest and grinned, "I think its love at first sight." Samantha shot her eyes over to Sakura, surprised she said that. What if it is love at first sight? Samantha sighed, "Who knows."

* * *

Back at the Akatsuki head quarters, Pein called for a meeting. Everyone entered the dimly lit room and sat at a long table. Pein sat at the very end with his partner Konan at his side. He looked flustered and stressed as everyone made themselves present. Once everyone was at there seats, they all sat down at the same time in a synchronized fashion. Pein stood up and gave the introduction, "Today is November 14 welcome to the meeting." Pein looked around the room at his employees, making sure they were awake. "As you can see, nothing has really made progress for the past couple of months. I am tired of seeing this to be honest." He passed a glare to everyone, "I expect some things to change around here and soon or else." Everyone nodded, good. Pein then sat down and looked through his paperwork. He pulled out a manila folder and sat it down in front of him, "Does everyone have their daily reports for this week to start off?" Everyone took out their folders and passed up their reports to Pein. Satisfied, he put them in his folder. "Alright." he affirmed, "What exactly I expect of you all is just to be a little more productive please? Most of you aren't doing anything at all. Please... do something and get off your asses." He looked around once more, "Any questions?" he smiled. Tobi raised his hand; Pein narrowed his eyes, "Yes Tobi." "Oh! Tobi wants to know when I will be a real member!" everyone glared at him. Tobi slumped back in his chair. Pein sighed, "Tobi, the day you become a true member is when you prove to me that you are worthy... not by kind acts, something more." Tobi lifted his head happily, "So there is a chance that Tobi can be a member Leader-sama?!" Pein nodded his head slowly. Tobi nodded his head happily. Pein scanned the room again, "Anything else?" He looked over to Kakuzu who was off into a deep daze. Pein smiled sarcastically and slammed his hand on the table hard making the entire table tremble. Kakuzu woke from his daze very quickly, "Kakuzu?" Pein cocked his head, "I want to talk to you after this." Kakuzu nodded his head, "Yes Leader." Pein sighed, "Is that it?" There was silence. "I guess so." Pein stood up, "Rise." He said firmly, ordering them all to stand. "Your all dismissed."

Hidan looked over to Kakuzu who still looked troubled. He placed his hand on his shoulder, "You alright?" Kakuzu glanced over to his partner, "Yeah, I'll be fine." After that was said he started to head back to Pein's office, "night man." Said Hidan as he walked out of the room. Kakuzu waved behind him as Hidan was leaving. Kakuzu made his way across the meeting room and to one of the entrances to Pein's quarters. He entered through the bedroom entrance and headed through the bed room and passes the huge double doors separating the bed room and his office. Pein was there at his desk organizing his paperwork. "Come in Kakuzu." Said Pein not looking up from his work. Kakuzu stood in front of his desk and waited for his leader to respond again. Pein looked up at him and gave him the hand gesture to sit down. So Kakuzu sat back in one of the chairs in front of his desk. Pein folded his fingers together and sighed, "Is there something bothering you Kakuzu?" Kakuzu shook his head, and Pein glared not believing him, "Kakuzu don't tell me you are stressed about the mission I gave you, I thought you loved bounties?" Kakuzu looked up at his leader trying to hide his troubled expression. "It's not that, I m just a bit tired sir." Pein nodded falling for Kakuzu's lie, "Alright... if there's anything you want to know just come ask me." Kakuzu nodded, "I'll keep that in mind." Pein smirked, "Ok you may leave." Kakuzu finally got up and left Pein to be alone with Konan who was waiting outside the door. She smiled at Kakuzu and headed inside, "Wait, Konan." Kakuzu stopped her, "Yes?" Kakuzu felt a little bit hesitant about his question, "You love Pein... don't you?" Konan blushed, "Yes, I do."

"So, if there was a situation where you had to chose between him and your life what would it be?" Konan smiled warmly, "It would be him." Kakuzu was listening, "Because he **is** my life, he's all I need to be happy in this world and there is nothing that can tell me otherwise." She smiled again before going into Pein's room. She stopped just before she was about to shut the door and she caught Kakuzu just as he was about to walk away, "Oh hey Kakuzu" He stopped and looked back at her, "don't tell Pein I said that... I haven't really confessed yet and neither has he... so..." Kakuzu cut her off, "You don't have to say anymore my lips are sealed." Konan smiled, "Thanks." "No problem."

When Kakuzu entered his and Hidan's room, Hidan was already asleep. Kakuzu lay down to sleep thinking about when he would see her again. He sighed, "Who knows."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9:**

**Jealousy **

**November 15**

The next day at Konoha was a busy one. Everyone was doing something or another. The streets bustled and cluttered as the crowds became larger. Kakashi came to the kitchen table with coffee in hand as he started to wake up. He then opened the morning paper; that was when Samantha emerged out of her room with a groan. "Good morning Samantha." Samantha groaned again, still not awake yet, "Hi." Kakahi chuckled, "Would you like some coffee Samantha?" Samantha smiled warmly while fixing her hair a little bit. "Yes that would be nice, thank you." Kakashi put down his paper and made Samantha her coffee. _'How nice of him…kind of reminds me of that one guy Kakuzu... god that body.' _Samantha almost seemed like she was about to drool until Kakashi snapped his fingers to wake her up out of her hot daydream about Kakuzu. "You ok?" Said Kakashi with a chuckle. Samantha shook her head and blushed, and then smiled,

"Yeah I'm ok, sorry about that."

"It's ok, here's your coffee."

"Thank you."

Kakashi sat back down and continued to read his paper. '_I wonder what he's like.' _Thought Samantha while sipping her coffee. "Hey Kakashi…" Kakashi put down his paper, "I'm sorry I should be talking to you instead of making you sit in silence." Samantha giggled. _'Whoa why did I giggle?'_ Samantha coughed, "uhh, so…. Whats your favorite color?" Samantha and Kakashi both laughed. "Well, my favorite color is navy blue, whats yours?" Samantha put her elbows up on the table and folded her fingers together, "Mine... I have three, I can't pick between them, black, red, and silver." "Nice" Samantha smiled big while observing his deep blue eye. "So what cha got behind that headband?" Kakashi touched his headband, "Oh this? Uh… a sharingan." Samantha was intrigued, "Ooh, that sounds interesting; I've never seen a sharingan I think?" "You wish to see it?" Samantha leaned in, "Yeah!" Kakashi lifted up his headband and showed her his sharingan. "That's very interesting," said Samantha. Then she had a flashback to her moment of ninja-n-the middle. Itachi had the same eyes, but unlike Kakashi's he had it in both eyes. _'I wonder what there up to now,'_ Samantha thought as she looked to her right. "Something bothering you?" Asked Kakashi. Samantha smiled and shook her head, "No, just thinking about some people I met on the road," "Ahh, I see." Said Kakashi nodding his head.

"So, ya got a girl waiting for you at home?" Kakashi blushed, "No, I don't." Samantha put her hand over her mouth, " Sorry." Kakashi shook his head, " No no that's ok. I haven't really thought about finding a girl actually. I don't think I would have any luck finding one anyway." Samantha dropped her jaw and laid her arms down on the table, "What?! You're a nice guy and you're not that bad looking either." Kakashi blushed and locked eyes with Samantha, _'I can't believe I just said that…' _Samantha thought with a blank look on her face. There was an awkward silence for a moment… "You're just saying that." Said Kakashi finally. "No I'm not; you're quite the sight for sore eyes." Samantha just realized what she said and there was yet another eerie silence. "Thank you… you're quite a sight yourself…" Kakashi said in a soft tone. This made Samantha blush quite wildly. _'D-did he just…is he… really looking at me like that?'_ Kakashi and Samantha both locked eyes.

Then Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke entered the room making Samantha turn her chair away in the opposite direction of Kakashi. Kakashi picked up his paper again and began to read. Samantha got up to make some food, "Kakashi, do you want some breakfast?" Kakashi peered over his paper, "Yes please, thank you." Samantha then continued to do her own thing. Kakashi sipped his coffee, " You know," Kakashi said as he took another sip, "Today is the chunnin exams, did you all forget?" The three young ninjas all stopped what they were doing, "HOLY CRAP!!" They all said in unison, "I think we did forget! When is it again Kakashi sensei?" Asked Sakura. Kakashi once again peered up from his paper. "Hmmm… probably in about another hour and a half." Sakura ate her breakfast quickly. Naruto went and got changed and Sasuke went to go meditate. "You guys better hurry if you don't want to be late!" Said Kakashi as he flipped the pages of his paper. Samantha was a little stumped. But then she had a flashback to when she was younger, when she had to go to the chunnin exams with her old sensei, the priest.

"Do you mind if I come along with you?" Asked Samantha. "That's fine, of course! You are welcome to stay with us as long as you want." Samantha smiled warmly when she realized what he just said. But she couldn't stay for much longer, and she knew that. She turned around as she mourned for a short moment. She made some really good friends, she didn't want to go. But she had to. Probably after the exams… she would be on her way once more again. Besides, eventually they would catch on about whom she was so it wasn't safe to stay any longer than today. When they were all ready, they started to head out.

Pein stood outside as he watched Kakuzu leave. Kakuzu didn't look back; he felt his leader's cold stare behind him. The headquarters and Pein both began to slowly shrink away behind Kakuzu as he dashed away. He knew what he must do… but why her? No… he couldn't think about it! He has to stay focused. Now… the groceries. Kakuzu made his way throughout the village. Of course, the people were cowering for their lives screaming, "Ahhhh, Akatsuki!!" It was starting to grow old, he easily ignored it. _'Stupid cowardly mortals…'_ Kakuzu thought as people locked themselves in their houses as if a typhoon was coming. He approached a store and realized that the owner wasn't willing to let him in. The elderly man came out of his shop with a pitchfork in his wrinkled hands. Kakuzu raised a brow, "May I please purchase some of your stock?" The old man was still standing there. Maybe he didn't hear him? The old man put a hand up to his ear, "Eh? What did you say young man??" Kakuzu was stumped, was he gonna poke him to death or keep saying, "Eh? Whats that sonny?" Kakuzu patiently stood his ground and repeated himself just a bit louder, "May I please purchase some of your stock?" "Eh, what? Oh hello there." Kakuzu slapped his face and dragged his hand down his jaw._ 'OH MY GOD!! Is this man senile or what?' _

This was hopeless, "CAN I PLEASE GET SOME GROCERIES!!" The old man was startled. "Oh my." The old man showed his hand to the door, welcoming Kakuzu inside. "Thank you." Kakuzu said through gritted teeth. _'Now I know why Pein hates people so much._' Kakuzu mumbled under his breath a he observed the stock. Wow… it was expensive! _'What a waste of money.'_ He thought. It was hard to decide what to get. All of the good food was really expensive. He hated spending money! He sucked it up and bought the necessary foods for dinner, boneless pork ribs, rice, kelp, fish, noodles, chicken, octopus, and squid. A fine dinner was planned, even though he dreaded the dent that was going to be in his wallet, he paid for it anyway. Pein only made him do this because he hated to spend money. I guess this was a punishment fit for Kakuzu. He grabbed the groceries and began to head back to headquarters.

The way back was long and grueling. It was both cold and boring! Oooh what a combination! Kakuzu was beginning to get shivers. Too bad he didn't bring a blanket or something to cover him up. He rubbed his hands together to try and warm up. _'Love huh?' _He thought to himself as he looked down to the bag of groceries. He tossed and turned all night thinking about what Konan said the night before. And just as he was about to go around the leaf village something caught his eye. It was a sign that said,

**Chunnin Exams **

**TODAY**

**All ninja compete for their title as elite!**

Kakuzu was quite curious. He looked up in the suns direction and figured that it was still early in the morning. _'Why don't I just pass some time.'_ He wondered. _'It wouldn't hurt to sit in at a chunnin exam would it?'_ Kakuzu went behind some bushes and took some civilian clothes out from his pack. _'I don't want to run into the wrong people.' _He thought. Kakuzu was of course not stupid, people would definitely notice him if he just walked in. He figured that he would use a genjutsu to hide all of his stitches and so he did. Oh how gorgeous he was! Wow, more like drop dead gorgeous if you ask me! Kakuzu took off his head gear, brushed his hair, and put on the civilian clothes. It was just a basic traveler's kimono, nothing special. His eyes turned a crystal blue as his skin turned a more soft tan. Hid features were perfect, his body was fit. It was hard to believe that that was actually Kakuzu.

As Kakuzu walked his way throughout the village, he was getting all sorts of women whistling and giggling at him. He blushed as a small group of girls looked at him and said, "Hi." In a flirtatious way, they all waved at him as he smiled back, "Hey." He said with a dashing smile. All of the girls giggled again and sighed. What a dashing devil Kakuzu was! He had never had this many girls swooning over him. _'Wow…'_ he thought, _'I always thought that I was ugly.'_ He touched the smooth, non stitched, sides of his face. He began to like this. As he advanced into the auditorium, a lot of familiar faces caught is eye. Of course the non forgetful face of the fifth Hokage… Tsunade. "Now attention everyone, attention!" Everyone all turned there heads around to face the blonde, prestigious woman standing high above them all. The crowd scooted like crabs towards Tsunade's podium. Her heart swelled with pride for she knew that the people she supervised could not be surpassed. _'This will all be interesting... I can't wait.'_ She thought as she scanned the sea of ninjas.

Tsunade smiled in confidence as she continued. "Today is the elite chunnin exams. All ninjas who compete will need to understand that we are not responsible for any deaths." Everyone snickered, "Now for all that have come to watch, keep out of the contestant's way, and also do not disturb them when the exams start, this is for safety reasons only. Now these exams are a bit different…" Everyone listened carefully, "These exams won't be anywhere outside this auditorium, these exams are about physical stature. Basically, let's see what you can do." Tsunade then pointed to her right. There were arenas all outlined and ready for the exams. "This time, you will fight to get to the top. The top ten will claim the rank as elite!" Everyone cheered for their favorite as Tsunade gave the hand signal for everyone to make their way to there seats and begin. Kakuzu then followed everyone else as they all made their way up to the balconies and bleachers. _'Wow there's a lot of people…'_ Kakuzu thought when he finally found his seat. Luckily for him he got a front row seat!

Kakashi and Samantha inched their way through the crowd, trying to find a seat. At one point they were pushed together and their hands touched briefly before they coughed and looked away. Samantha blushed, knowing Kakashi was starting to have feelings for her. Finally when they found a seat they sat down with ease. Thank goodness they got front row seats. Kakashi all of a sudden had a hateful look on his face. She noticed this, "Kakashi, whats wrong?" Kakashi leaned toward Samantha, "Do you know how many men are staring at you and saying inappropriate things about you?" Samantha was flattered, "look around." He said still scanning the sea of ninja's. Samantha looked and there were indeed a lot of men looking at her, winking, waving, and talking to each other about her. She flushed and looked back over to Kakashi, he flashed a glare at most of the men and they finally looked away. Samantha smiled; she never had anyone do that before. That was when she noticed she still had her mask on. "Oh, I almost forgot." When she took off her mask Kakashi couldn't help but gaze at Samantha's beautiful face. Her eyes were bright green that glistened like gems. Her skin glowed a caramel tone. Her black as night hair made her eyes show up brilliantly. When she smiled her lush lips, barely parted. It was starting to drive him crazy… _'Wow… she's… she's… gorgeous.'_ Samantha looked from one direction to the next. _'Whats he looking at?'_ She wondered, "You ok?" She asked Kakashi, he shook his head and turned away from her. "Oh… n-nothing, it's nothing." Samantha shook her head, "Ok … if you say so." Samantha said as she turned her attention away from Kakashi and out into the crowd below them. She was trying to find Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura. The crowd was so large she couldn't find them anywhere. "So when do you think they are going to fight?" Asked Samantha curiously. Kakashi was cutoff from his thoughts to hear Samantha's voice. "Huh?" He said blinking, "Never mind." Samantha said with a huff.

About a half hour later, Tsunade declared for the exams to start. It was all like a tournament really. The ninja who would claim number one elite would not only become elite, but that ninja would work personally for the hokage. That was something worth fighting for. Even though Tsundae announced the start of the exams, nothing was happening. A silence fell over the crowd, with the exception of a few murmers. What was the hold up? About a minute later, Tsunade stood up to give an announcement, hopefully about the small hold up. When suddenly a cloud of smoke appeared on the field. "Sorry for the delay!"

There in the middle of the field was a man wearing a green spandex suit with the jonin vest standing on top of a turtle! His left hand was on his hip while his right hand with the thumb and index finger curled into a circle was over his eye. What a weird pose. His large smile was somewhat blinding in the light. "I am Gai! I will be the proctor for these matches as each ninja demonstrates their youthful spirit!" His happy go lucky demeanor soon diminished as he felt a glare coming from behind him. Clearing his throat, the turtle disappeared and he proceeded to announce the first contestants. Sakura and Ino.

Samantha stared at Gai with a somewhat bewildered expression and looked at Kakashi. "Do I even want to know?" He shook his head in reply with a small sigh. Of all people they chose Gai. Hopefully the next proctor will be Ibiki or someone else. "I'm guessing Sakura and that Ino girl are rivals or something?" Samantha commented as she watched the two younger girls verbally argue while they waited for the ok to fight. "You have no idea." Kakashi murmured, remembering the exams from three years ago. That was one hell of an exam.

Kakuzu leaned back into his seat, not really interested in the fight at the moment. If there wasn't an interesting fight he might just leave. _'I've got to get these groceries back soon.'_ Sighing, he remembered his other mission. He had two months to find Samantha for the bounty. NO! He wasn't going to think about it right now. Just remembering her face and the way her body moved when she fought sent chills down his spine. Beautiful. His thoughts were interrupted by a loud noise. His attention turned back to the fight. Sakura had punched the ground and caused it to break and disperse in the air all around. Sending huge pieces of cement and boulders everywhere. _'So she inherited the hokage's strength. Interesting.'_ Lightly scratching his cheek, he mentally calculated how the fight might end and who might be the winner.

Samantha whistled in amazement. "She's someone you don't want to tick off huh?" She looked at Kakashi, only to snicker at his face. "She has the Hokage's temper, that's for sure." He nodded. "I was just stopping Naruto and Sasuke from a small spat when Naruto yelled out something vulgar and Sakura did that." Samantha held back her laughter. Poor guy. Shaking her head, she turned back onto the fight. Ino struggled to stand while Sakura waited. A minute later Gai appeared and placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder. "Ino is unable to continue. Sakura wins!!" With that said, a group of medic ninjas approached to take Ino and Sakura away to heal their injuries. Gai prepared to announce the next fighters.

Samantha rolled her shoulders softly sitting down for so long was weird. She never thought that the fight would be that long. She shifted in her seat a bit, bumping into the man next to her. "Sorry." She said turning her head to apologize only to stare at him… he looked vaguely familiar. "Have we met?" Kakuzu stared at Samantha, knowing it was her. He couldn't stop looking at her. "You don't recognize me?" he said in a soft tone. Samantha then felt her heart race; she knew who it was now, it was Kakuzu. They both stared at each other so surprised to see one another they were speechless. Samantha cracked a small grin. "Kakuzu," she said in one breath, Kakuzu smiled, "How did you figure out my name?" Samantha fiddled with her fingers, "Some of the people here know about the Akatsuki and they told me your name." Kakuzu nodded. "I see…" They were both silent again, just gazing at each other. Then Samantha remembered something, her ribbon, "Hey, do you mind giving me back my ribbon now?" Kakuzu blinked, "Yeah, sorry." He said reaching in his pocket. He placed the ribbon in her hand and kept his hand on hers for a brief moment before taking his hand back. She smiled and put her hair up. That was when Kakuzu noticed Kakashi sitting next to her. Curious, Kakuzu tapped her shoulder, "Who is that?" Samantha looked over to Kakashi and tapped his arm to get his attention, "Kakuzu this is Kakashi, I came with him." The two men just looked at one another somewhat blankly. This wasn't good… Kakashi knew exactly who he was. Kakashi glared at him, "You are not allowed to be here." He said sternly making Kakuzu narrow his eyes, he remembers who Kakashi is now. "I've done no harm." Kakashi huffed, "Yet." Samantha could feel the tension, "uhhh… do you two know each other?" Kakashi nodded, "Yes I know exactly who he is." Kakuzu glared at him. Kakashi then got up and grabbed Samantha's hand, "Were going." He said as he was starting to take her away from Kakuzu, Samantha looked back at him wanting him to get her, and sure enough with that look she gave, Kakuzu got up and grabbed her hand and yanked her behind him, making Kakashi loose his grip on her, "She's not going anywhere with you." Kakashi became infuriated, "You will let her go." He commanded, taking out a kunai. That was when Kakuzu lost his cool, his eyes turned back to black with blazing neon green pupils. "The only way she would be in danger is by being with you." Samantha was becoming scared; she looked around and noticed a lot of people were watching. She hugged Kakuzu from the back placing her hands on the sides of his arms, "Please don't fight." Kakuzu heard her and calmed down. Kakashi saw this and calmed down also. But he had to get him away from her. His jealousy was so great that he wouldn't be satisfied until he saw Kakuzu out of her reach… for good. Kakashi whistled up to Tsunade's podium. Tsunade stood by the railing. "This man is with the Akatsuki, he is Kakuzu!" Tsunade immediately stopped the exams and sent her men to arrest him, "Take him into custody, and have him dead by tomorrow!" Samantha panicked she held onto Kakuzu tight. He spun around to look at her, "Samantha…" Kakuzu said as the men started to take him away. They pried them both out of their short embrace. Samantha held her hand out to him; tears began to roll down her cheeks. That was when she completely lost it, "NO!" Everyone stopped what they were doing, even the guards. They all looked at her. "I WON'T LET YOU TAKE HIM!!!" With that said her chakra released and her genjutsu disappeared revealing her absolute true colors. Everyone Shrieked in horror and started to leave the auditorium in somewhat of a panic. Most of them were yelling "The Phantom!!" As they fled. Samantha's skin turned to a pale gray as her stitches turned a fire engine red. Her red pupils blazed wildly as she channeled all of her chakra. Everyone, even Tsunade was amazed by her level of strength. Kakashi sadly gazed at her, "Why… why did you lie to me?!" Samantha spat to her side, "I DON'T GIVE A DAMN!!" Tsunade finally had enough, "ARREST THEM BOTH NOW!!" Finally twenty ninja's surrounded Samantha wearing masks as they held sleeping bombs in there hands. Tsunade came down to their level and stood in front of Kakashi. "Take her out." Just as the command was given, they threw the bombs at Samantha. Tsunade gave her men and Kakashi a mask as she put hers on as well. The smoke was green and thick. As the smoke cleared they looked, hoping to find Samantha passed out on the floor. She wasn't there. Everyone looked around trying to find her. "Don't loose her!" Ordered Tsunade; Just then, she felt a presence behind her, she slightly turned her head to see Samantha hanging upside down from the ceiling with wire. Completely startled, Tsunade swung at Samantha only to have it countered. Samantha cut her wire and as she fell she attempted to drop kick Tsunade, but as her foot came down Tsunade caught it and pushed her back sending her into the air. Samantha did a back flip and landed on her feet. She charged at the hokage again. "Protect the hokage!" One of the men shouted. They all surrounded Tsunade and took out there swords. Samantha took out hers as well. And just as she was about to hit her mark, she stopped immediately to since a strong chakra behind her. She turned around to see Kakashi crouched down with his right hand facing the floor and the other hand supporting his right arm. All of a sudden blue electricity made a ball in Kakashi's right hand. "LIGHTNING BLADE!" Tsunade pushed some of her men to the side, "Get out of the way!" All of the men scattered out of the way as Kakashi ran toward Samantha. She was frozen. She couldn't move… why can't she move! She looked up at Tsunade's podium to see a young man standing on the railing wearing a Jounin jacket with his black hair up in a pony tail. He smirked, as Samantha watched in horror. She turned her attention back to Kakashi who was just a foot away from her. "NOO!" Kakuzu shouted out still a little bit conscious. Just as that was said, Kakashi's lightning blade made contact with Samantha and it sent her flying. She lay motionless on the ground. Barely breathing, she tried to lift her head up to look at Kakuzu, and she passed out.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**Escape!**

Samantha awoke and found herself in a cell alone. Her head was spinning from the gas bombs, _'where the hell am I?' _she contemplated as she tried to look around as her vision slowly started to come back to her. The floor she was laying on was cold and wet cement. She staggered to her feet and approached the bars of her cell to see if anyone was out there. But alas, there was no one. She sighed and fell to her knees at a complete loss. _'What am I going to do?' _She shook her head holding back the tears that swelled in her eyes. Then in the midst of her sobbing, she heard a voice from the cell across from her. Could it be Kakuzu?! She jolted to her feet and clung herself to the bars once again, "Kakuzu, is that you?!" she sat waiting, holding her breath… hoping to hear a reply. "Samantha?" Samantha's heart skipped a beat, "yes! It's me Samantha is that you Kakuzu?" Kakuzu lurched himself to his cell bars, sadness glazed across his eyes as he tried to reach his hand out to her, "Samantha!" she tried to reach her hand out to him as well but they were too far apart.. Her heart pounded, "Oh my god, are you ok?" she asked in ragged breaths. Her eyes continued to swell with tears, knowing she couldn't feel his touch. "I'm alright, are you ok? You aren't hurt too badly are you?" Kakuzu asked bringing his hand back to the bars. "Yes I'm fine, I am so sorry for putting you through this." Kakuzu scoffed, "Don't be stupid, you didn't do this to me." Samantha whipped a tear from her eyes, "but if I hadn't…" He cut her off, "Samantha, it was my fault because I knew I shouldn't have been there, you did nothing to put me in this position."

"But..."

"No buts, it wasn't your fault."

She wasn't about to argue with him, now all she wanted was to be with him. She couldn't help but wonder why she would feel this way about anyone; especially the fact that they don't know each other that well. "Kakuzu…" she cried, falling back on her knees. Kakuzu slowly dropped to his knees as well and gazed at her deeply. _'Why must I feel this way about her…'_ seeing her like this tore him apart. "Samantha… please… don't cry." She lifted her head to look back to him across the way. "Everything is going to be ok." He reassured her. She dried her eyes once again and gazed back at him, _'how can I possibly be feeling this way…' _she sighed, "Kakuzu… can I ask you something…" He nodded not taking his eyes off of her, "yes?" Samantha's heart fluttered, she was starting to feel nervous, "why were you so defensive of me before?" Kakuzu looked away, "… I … don't know." She continued on, "what business would it be to you if I was with another man?" Kakuzu shot his eyes back at her, "you were dating him?!" She flinched, "oh no! I was just asking because it seemed like you thought that." Kakuzu flushed, "would it bother you if I did?" Samantha blushed and rubbed her arm while looking down. "I… don't know." Kakuzu then thought for a moment, _'how does she know my name?_' "Samantha…" he started, "how is it that you know my name?" Samantha smiled, "I asked around and someone told me …" Kakuzu nodded; "oh…" there was an odd silence after that. Feeling a bit awkward, they both looked away. When suddenly someone came bursting through the door.

"How could you do something like this!" scolded Kakashi. Samantha stood up, "I swear, I wasn't intending on putting anyone through any harm!" Kakashi fumed, **"You're an S ranked criminal!"** his abrupt shout made her jump and fall backwards. Kakuzu became infuriated, "leave her the fuck alone!!" Kakashi and Samantha both jumped and looked at Kakuzu who was now standing up. Kakashi got into Kakuzu's face, "stay the hell out of this!" Kakuzu rattled the bars, "Don't get pissed off because she'd rather be with me than a limp dick like you!" With that reply Kakuzu spat at him. Kakashi bowed up and made the lightning blade again in his right hand and shoved it into Kakuzu's cell, electrocuting him severely. Samantha violently pounded at the bars, "you fucking dick!!" Kakashi shot his glare back at Samantha, "If I wasn't in this cell…!" Kakashi cut her off, "what would you do!!" Samantha bowed up at him, **"I would kick your skinny white ass!" **Kakashi rummaged in his pocket and found his keys, he unlocked Samantha's cell door, and swung it open forcefully. Samantha was ready to fight, but he was too strong for her, he grabbed her by her hair and with the palm of his hand, he slapped Samantha clean off her feet. It hurt her so bad that she screamed.

When her cry reached Kakuzu's ears….

He began to see red…

Kakuzu got up, ripped his shirt clean off, head gear and all, and unleashed his tentacles. With ground breaking force, he lashed his tentacles onto the bars and crushed them as if they were a tin can. Kakashi took a step back as Kakuzu threw the two inch thick bars aside. He made no moment's hesitation to get to Kakashi. He grabbed the copy ninja by the neck and threw him up against the wall and went to town on him; so much that he had him on the floor pinned down. Samantha got up and gasped at the sight. She felt greatly flattered by the way Kakuzu reacted. But that wasn't the only thing she was worried about… the alarm was triggered. She got up and tried to pull him off of Kakashi who was about as beaten up as a matted rug. "Kakuzu we need to get out of here, LEAVE HIM!" She finally managed to get him off of Kakashi. Samantha then grabbed the keys and took Kakuzu's hand, "let's get the hell out of here!" Kakuzu nodded and they bolted their way out of the cell hall.

Kakashi sat up writhing in pain, _'there not getting away that easily.'_ He thought to himself trying to catch his breath. He got up and spat to his side. "Tsunade would love to hear about this…"

Sprinting their way this and that through the guard infested halls, they fought their way further and further on to freedom. Samantha loaded her magnum pistol and shot at any guard she saw. Kakuzu summoned his masks and effortlessly took down anyone in their way. Finally they made it to the last room before the front doors. They took down every guard except for one. Kakuzu restrained him as while Samantha cocked her pistol and aimed it between his eyes, "Where is our shit!" The half dead man pointed to a door to the far north east side of the room. Knowing they had no need of him anymore, Samantha pulled the trigger. Kakuzu kicked down the door and they grabbed all of their things and made a dash for the front door. Kakuzu stopped Samantha by grabbing her by her arm, "What are you doing we need to get out of …" Kakuzu cut Samantha off by pressing his lips to hers passionately. Lost in bliss, Samantha wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. They parted slowly looking into each others eyes, "Samantha…" Kakuzu whispered. She smiled and started to lean in to kiss him again when suddenly, something hit Kakuzu! And then again! "Kakuzu!" Samantha looked at his back and saw one kunai on his right shoulder and the other on his leg… but what scared her more than anything was because they weren't just any regular kunai… they had explosive tags on them… "KAKUZU!" The tags exploded and sent them both through the glass doors. He landed on top of her somewhat motionless.

Through the smoke… Kakashi emerged. Looking down at them … he grabbed Kakuzu and tossed him aside. Just when he was about to reach for Samantha, she snapped her leg up and kicked him square between the legs. He gasped while holding himself before falling to his knees, "Kakuzu was right." Spat Samantha, "You are a limp dick!" Samantha grabbed her things and helped Kakuzu up. "Are you ok!" she said looking up at him. "Yeah I'm fine." His wounds healed up slightly and they made a run for it once again. "We need to find Thunder!" enquired Samantha. Kakuzu then looked at her, "whose thunder?" still running Samantha looked up at him, "my horse."

They seemed to make a clean get away to the stables. As soon as Thunder saw Samantha he reared up on his hind legs and neighed loudly; knowing that they needed to get out of here. Kakuzu stopped in his tracks. "Holy hell that's a big horse!" Samantha chuckled while trying to catch her breath, "Yeah I know." Without hesitating, Kakuzu loaded all of the things on to Thunder. And just as Samantha was about to mount him… A kunai zinged past her face. "Shit, he just won't stop!" They both turned to see Kakashi just a few yards away. "I won't let you pass!" he warned. Kakuzu was ready to fight again, but Samantha grabbed a smoke bomb and threw it to the ground. She then grabbed Kakuzu and slung him onto the horse and bolted away. Kakashi smiled before he dispersed into a puff of smoke…

It was a shadow clone.

Samantha breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank god were out of there!" Kakuzu chuckled, "yeah." He then smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist. Samantha almost shuttered when she felt his strong body pressed to her back. She looked back at him and smiled, "why did you kiss me back there?" Kakuzu then slightly pressed his lips to her ear giving Samantha chills, "why did you kiss me back?' Samantha chuckled and then turned her head to face him. They were only two inches away from kissing, two tiny little inches. They both smiled and kissed again briefly. Kakuzu then opened his eyes to see Kakashi jump down from a tree in front of them. "Samantha look out!" Thunder reared back and bucked them off because he was so suddenly startled. They both fell to the ground and watched thunder bound away. Kakashi then made the lightning blade again and charged. "We can't fight him, we need to run!" Shouted Samantha. They jumped high into the trees and tried to manage to get away by escaping into the foliage. But Kakashi was hot on their heels. He was definitely not letting them get away, not after all of that. He jumped ahead and hid in a tree ahead of Kakuzu and Samantha. He attached exploding tags to four kunais and threw them at the tree Samantha and Kakuzu were about to land on in order to leap again. Samantha noticed them and shifted her momentum to go in another direction, grabbing Kakuzu's hand in the process. The tags exploded, causing the two of them to be caught in the shock wave, and it pushed them forward. Kakuzu managed to bring Samantha close to him and used his tentacles to swing them onto a tree safely. "thanks." She said panting slightly as he let her go. "No problem." He replied, and just as they were going to leap in a direction, Kakashi appeared. Samantha blocked his attack and managed to push him back. He's strong. A Kakashi clone appeared again to Kakuzu, but he quickly took him down with his tentacles. He cursed aloud when he noticed more clones were closing in on them. Samantha took out her two short swords, one on each hip, and started to fight two clones at once. There had to be a way to get away from Kakashi! Kakuzu just then spotted Thunder in the distance and a plan formed. "Samantha!" he yelled and jumped away after punching a Kakashi clone in the face. Samantha moved to follow him when she took down one of the clones attacking her.

While escaping, Kakuzu stayed alert to Kakashi's presence. They were far enough, but the copy ninja was starting to catch up quickly. He sensed Samantha beside him, good; he just needed to time this right. Dodging a kunai, he stopped on a branch and Samantha did so too. What luck! Thunder was about to run just below them. Kakuzu then pushed Samantha off the branch, "land on thunder!" Samantha then finally realized what he was doing and got ready to land in her horses saddle. Thunder stopped to catch Samantha, "Kakuzu come on jump!" Kakuzu jumped and landed behind her, but getting hurt in the process, "Go…" he groaned as he winced in pain. **"HYAH!"** Samantha kicked Thunder's sides and they were off. Samantha looked back to see Kakashi watching them leave. She noticed the expression on his face… sadness. She watched as he slowly began to become smaller and smaller into the distance. _'why did he look that way…"_ she wondered. She then shook off the thought and turned her attention to Kakuzu, "Are you ok?" She asked, "I'm ok…" he managed to squeak out a reply. Samantha then realized what just happened to him. He landed on the very end of the saddle… ouch. She couldn't help but laugh though, "come on that's not funny." Kakuzu squeaked again. "Sorry." She said between breaths, "I just can't help it." Kakuzu sat up on the saddle correctly and wrapped his arms around her waist again, "uh huh yeah…" he said sarcastically. Samantha shook her head. "Alright let's find a place to set camp if that's alright with you… that is if you want to stay with me." Kakuzu looked at Samantha from over her shoulder, "uh…" Samantha just now caught what she just said… _'Wow… I did not just ask him to spend the night with me." _She then smiled to herself mischievously, _'never mind… yes I did…" _she shook her head from side to side, _'oh my god, what has gotten into me, he can't spend the night with me in the same tent!'_ she thought to herself as she blushed like a cherry, slightly thinking about what they could do together alone. "I would love to stay with you." She froze, "what? Really?" she didn't know what to say, "Oh, uh… yeah that's right you can stay… its just…" Kakuzu leaned in, "it's just what?" she gulped, "I only have one tent." Kakuzu smiled, "I guess I will just have to sleep outside then." Samantha's heart could beat again. _'Wow… he's not like any normal men…'_ she thought surprised. "Oh… ok then that will work." Then Samantha thought what if he gets too cold, what if he gets eaten up by bugs? "Are you sure you want to sleep outside?" she asked politely, "yes that's fine." He replied, "I've been in worse cases before trust me." Samantha still couldn't help but feel bad for making him sleep outside… but it's just what has to be done in her case. Well, because she has more discipline than that. Even as tempting as it was… she could let him sleep beside her… buy she would be too nervous… to let him that is. "Ok… if you're sure." Secretly she really wanted to let him… it was so hard to say no.

She Imagined them lying together gazing into one another's eyes. He then pulls her closer to him by her hips and then he kisses her so deeply that she slightly let a moan escape her lips. His hands exploring her back, her hands full of his soft hair. They explored each other's mouths ever so passionately. He rolls over on top of her and starts to trail sweet kisses down from her jaw to her neck. Her body began to ache for him more than ever within every kiss and every touch. He slowly began to pull down her kimono by her shoulder while still kissing her neck. She practically gasped when he cupped her breast over her bra. She then started to take off his shirt kissing him desperately if they parted. His ripped body upper body was now exposed to her will. She began to feel hot in odd places, she wanted him there, and she wanted him now. Kakuzu untied her obi and pulled of the rest of her kimono and continued to let her kiss him. He laid her down and began to take off her bra. He unsnapped it and set it aside. Samantha looked down to see a large bulge in his pants. She was about to go insane. He scanned her with hazed eyes and he took off her panties. She undid his pants and pulled him on top of her…

"Samantha?" she jumped slightly startled as she was pulled out of her hot sweaty daydream. "Huh what?" she said looking around wide eyed. "You were daydreaming… are you ok?" Asked Kakuzu smirking. Samantha blinked, "yeah… I'm fine." She said trying to forget everything she just thought about. "I guess I'm just a bit tired that's all." She said to Kakuzu trying to lie. Kakuzu nodded his head, "I really wouldn't blame you. I'm tired myself." Kakuzu started to try and pick Samantha up, "whoa, what are you doing!" Kakuzu switched places with Samantha and took the reins. "You can sleep while I find us a safe place to stay ok?" Samantha was shocked and flattered all at once, "Oh…" she smiled wide, "Thank you very much." Kakuzu nodded, "No problem." He then felt Samantha wrap her arms around his stomach and rest her head on his back. He smiled warmly, _'she's so cute.' _As Samantha slept soundly, and with Kakuzu at the reins, the full moon high above was their only light in their path.

* * *

Tsunade stood up at her desk when she saw Kakashi enter the room. She was shocked to see him in such a condition. It looked as if he were about to collapse where he stood. "Oh my god Kakashi what the hell happened to you?!" the hokage demanded. Kakashi coughed and then caught his breath, "The Phantom and Kakuzu of the Akatsuki escaped." Tsunade clenched her fists, "What!" she was overcome with rage as she raked her hand through her blonde hair. "This can't be happening…" she whispered to herself. Then she noticed that Kakashi was about to fall to the floor. "Shit!" she ran to him and caught him before he could fall. She clenched her teeth and then picked him up. "Asuma!!" she called for another ninja in the other room. A tall bulky man walked through the door wearing a jounin jacket like Kakashi. He had a lit cigarette in his mouth, and the expression on his face was far from amused. He had messy black hair and looked like he had just been interrupted while doing something important. "Yes hokage?" Tsunade turned to him and narrowed her eyes at him, "Oh dear lord!" he gaped, "What happened to Kakashi!?" Tsunade tapped her foot, "I'm the one who should have asked you that a while ago apparently…" Asuma scratched his head, "What are you talking about?" Tsunade handed Asuma Kakashi and put her hands on her hips, "The Phantom and Kakuzu of the Akatsuki have escaped!!" Asuma took a step back, "But how?! I never got a notice of anything going wrong… I don't understand." Tsunade stiffly walked back to her desk and sat down. "Well it seems to me that Kakashi was the only one out there!" Tsunade slammed her fists on her desk, "I want those hooligans back here A.S.A.P! Do you hear me Asuma!!?" Asuma nodded his head hoping not to anger her anymore than she is now. "Now make sure he is medically treated, and go check out the Jail house in case anyone else got hurt… **now get out of my office!!**" Asuma was out of that office faster than you can say Uzumaki. Tsunade rubbed her temples to fight back the head ache she was having. "You just wait Phantom…" she said to herself getting Samantha's criminal records out from her drawer. She opened it and stabbed her picture with a kunai, "I will have you in my grasp one day…"


End file.
